


Camelot Come Dancing

by Robin_Fai



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: (dancing with the stars is usually the international name for the show), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Strictly Come Dancing Fusion, Arthur is king (of the dancefloor), Crack Treated Seriously, Dancing, F/F, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Good Morgana (Merlin), Good Uther? (He's not genocidal but he's still a bitch), Human Aithusa (Merlin), Human Kilgharrah (Merlin), Inspired by Fanart, Keep Dancing!, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Uther in Craig Revel Horwood style outfits, but they do get voted off a TV show, dance partners to friends, it got out of hand, this was meant to be a oneshot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robin_Fai/pseuds/Robin_Fai
Summary: Merlin wondered what had possessed him. There was no way he could go on Camelot Come Dancing. He was certain to fall over his feet, make a fool of himself on live TV, and become the first person to be voted off. Yet if he could have the undeniably handsome dance god Arthur Pendragon as his partner then perhaps it wouldn't be so bad...
Relationships: Freya/Morgana (Merlin), Hunith & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Hunith & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 79
Kudos: 74





	1. The Launch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lordvoldemortsnipple](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordvoldemortsnipple/gifts).



> So I saw a bit of fanart by lordvoldemortsnipple ([See here!](https://lordvoldemortsnipple.tumblr.com/post/633066313625075712)) of Merlin and Arthur dancing and had a mad idea of the various characters taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. It started as a fluffy little oneshot but then I had Too Many Ideas and now I have a spreadsheet and Plans to release chapters of this alongside each week's episode of Strictly... Well, we shall see how that goes but it is the plan. I've just got Week 1 to catch up writing and then I will try and have a chapter each Saturday or Sunday as the show progresses ^_^

Merlin wondered what had possessed him. There was no way he could go on Camelot Come Dancing. He was certain to fall over his feet, make a fool of himself on live TV, and become the first person to be voted off. Yet the contracts were signed, the matching show filming scheduled, and his first outfit already measured up and fitted. There was no going back now.

He was already at a disadvantage to most of the other contestants. He was a well known and highly respected magician in magic circles, but the general public knew only the very top, most flashy performers of their art. He would be lucky if a fraction of the viewers knew who he was. The producers must have really been stuck to invite _Merlin_ of all people onto the show. He should have said no. Why had he said yes? 

His mother was the reason he had said yes, which was the worst because he could never resent her for landing him in this situation. Hunith loved the show. She had been devoted to it from the very first series and never missed an episode. When he had shown her the letter he had received he knew he was doomed. She had been so ill recently and to see her eyes light up in the way they did sealed his fate. He had agreed to be a contestant the very next day.

Swallowing down his fear, he walked into the rehearsal studios. There were more forms to fill, and then he was deposited into a room full of genuine celebrities and dance gods. He counted the numbers of male and female pro dancers and exhaled in what was either relief or disappointment, or perhaps both. His one request from when he agreed to being on the show had not been met. There were equal numbers of male and female celebrities and pro dancers, so he wasn’t going to be in the first same sex dance coupling. It was nice not to have so much of a spotlight on him, but he would have preferred dancing with male partner.

***** ***** *****

Arthur Pendragon, twice pro champion of Camelot and undisputed king of the dance floor, looked around at the latest bunch of ‘celebrities’ the producers had cobbled together. As usual there was a wide mix of ex athletes and sports personalities, presenters, soap drama actors, newsreaders, musicians. And then there were the random couple of nobodies that got dragged in for the sake of diversity or money or whatever mad reason they picked them…

He could already see one of them, some politician or something, who was laughing raucously while she stepped on her partner’s feet in some awful imitation of a waltz. Arthur shuddered and prayed that he wouldn’t get landed with _that_ comic relief. 

He spun around to try and find someone more hopeful to dance with and promptly collided with a blur of red, blue, and brown. On reflex, he caught the person he had bumped into before he could hit the floor, but the idiot flailed and came free of his grip, landing heavily. Arthur looked down at the ungainly mess at his feet. What kind of a fool wore boots, a suede jacket, and a _scarf_ of all things when learning to dance? 

The badly dressed idiot scrambled to his feet. “Careful where you’re putting those size nines!”

Arthur snorted. “Size eleven actually.”

The cameras were on them of course. This would make for some juicy setting shots in their matching episode. Arthur smirked as he thought how this otherwise bothersome interaction would certainly help his own ratings on he show. 

The other man looked him up and down and said with a wry smile, “it isn’t the size – it’s what you do with it that counts.”

The filming crew was laughing. Arthur felt himself blushing scarlet, his mouth hanging open in shock. His mind frantically scrambled for a suitable come back but came up blank. 

“And you are?” It was the best he could come up with. Remind this z-lister that on this show he was less than nobody, and Arthur was king.

“Merlin.” 

The man actually held his hand out for Arthur to shake. Was he that much of an idiot? Arthur crossed his arms across his chest, pointedly not taking Merlin’s hand.

“And what are you then? Politician? Reality TV star? Late night local radio host?”

“I’m a magician,” Merlin replied and also crossed his arms across his chest. The man was a twig, clearly underweight and not a muscle on him, so it wasn’t exactly impressive posturing. “And you should treat people with more respect.”

“Ooh, what are you going to do? Magic me away? Make me disappear?” He wiggled his fingers suggestively and a few onlookers laughed. He’d never been a fan of magic shows. “Magic isn’t going to help you to learn to dance. There aren’t any trapdoors to get you out of this one _Mer_ lin.”

“You offering to teach me then?”

“What? No, I…”

“Unless you don’t think you’d be up to the challenge?”

“I’ve been dancing since I was four years old. Someone like you could never keep up.”

Merlin stepped up close and into a classic ballroom hold. “Try me.”

Arthur’s mouth opened and closed several times before finally finding his voice. “Fine. Basic waltz step. I bet you can’t even do that.”

Before Merlin had a chance to prepare Arthur quickly stepped into the simple routine the celebrities had been learning. For a moment he thought Merlin was going to fall over his feet, but then he recovered and picked up the steps. Arthur had been counting on Merlin having learned the lead part and not being able to follow without at least being shown the pattern. He was so thrown by the ease with which Merlin had switched parts that he was unprepared when Merlin switched their hold and took over the lead. Instinctively, he followed as Merlin threw him into a simple turn. 

“Hey!” Arthur pulled back into hold and switched the lead back to himself. “Can’t you even follow where your partner leads?”

“Can’t you?”

“I’m the professional.”

“That doesn’t stop the pro ladies following their celebrity partners.”

It was a fair point, but Arthur didn’t like losing so he pushed on into a more complex step expecting Merlin to stumble from not knowing what he was supposed to be doing. Much to his annoyance Merlin managed to keep with him, albeit clumsily.

“You’ve danced before.” He hadn’t meant it to come out as an accusation.

“No. Not really.” Merlin gave him a sad sort of a smile and for the first time Arthur really looked at him. 

Merlin was plain. There was nothing exceptional about him other than those ridiculous ears. And yet there was something… He had nice eyes certainly, and his mouth was... Arthur cleared his throat and dragged his gaze back up to where it should be. He threw Merlin into a turn without the proper lead in. Naturally, the poor man was unprepared and tripped over his stupid boots and landed on the floor again.

“Be careful who you challenge next time, _Mer_ lin.”

Merlin just smiled widely at him from where he was sprawled on the floor. Arthur walked away trying to pretend he wasn’t imagining a scenario where he would get to spend more time with a certain magician. No one ever challenged him like that, and he found that he rather unexpectedly liked it.

***** ***** *****

Merlin was relieved to have survived the first group dance of the launch show. Those things had always looked so chaotic on the TV with all the partners changing and varied steps. He didn’t think he had come out of it too badly. They had even thrown in a brief moment with him dancing with Arthur in imitation of their encounter in training. That had been the real highlight and he was certain he had been smiling like a fool the whole time. Now they just had the matching to survive before it was off for a week of learning a routine ready for the first show.

He looked down the line of celebrities in confusion. This was not what he was used to seeing shows from previous years. Normally they would get a set of the female celebrities and male pro dancers and match them up, and then vice versa. Instead, this time they had all the celebrities lined up alternating women and men. All the pro dancers were in one big group opposite them. Merlin couldn’t think why on earth they would have changed the set up, but since he was last in line with Freya, who he was thrilled to have met (she had always been his favourite singer), he would have plenty of time to figure it out. 

As the couples were matched, Merlin became no more enlightened than he had been before. Surely there was less drama in doing it this way. When they got to the last four, Aithusa looked at them all with a wide, and slightly terrifying smile. Merlin liked her, and sh was incredibly beautiful, but he couldn’t deny that with her albino looks and intense personality the woman was more than a little intimidating. 

Merlin shot Freya a look. The poor girl looked terrified. He reached out his hand to take hers and she gave him a grateful smile. Once the previous two couples had their partners announced they would know who they were to be paired with, and then still have to stand there until they were announced. He had always hated watching that awkward moment in the matching, but at least he had company in this set up.

The last four pro dancers were Nimueh, Morgana, Cenred, and Arthur. So Merlin would be paired with either Nimueh or Morgana. He wasn’t sure what to hope for between those two. They were both beautiful, insanely talented, and utterly competitive. He hoped Freya got Arthur. Cenred had a way of looking at people that was rather unsettling. 

Aithusa waited for the ominous music to reach its cue and then announced; “Elyan, your partner will be… Nimueh!” The pair ran at each other for the obligatory congratulatory hug. The camera cut straight back to Aithusa once the pair had run off to their mark by the other couples. “And Vivian, your partner will be… Cenred!” 

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Freya’s hand supportively. Cenred was twirling Vivian round in a circle and she was smiling in a fixed kind of way that left no one under the illusion that she was pleased to get him rather than Arthur. Everyone wanted to be paired with Arthur. OK, not everyone, all the women though… and Merlin.

“Merlin, Freya,” Aithusa fixed her icy blue gaze upon them and Freya clung to his hand even tighter, “now we just have your partners left to reveal.” The audience laughed. Merlin fixed his best smile on his face. He hated the ridiculous not-drama of it all. 

“Merlin, your partner is…” The drum-roll ran on far longer than was reasonable and Merlin felt his smile wear thin. “Arthur!” 

Merlin blinked. He had heard that wrong. Or Aithusa had the wrong autocue. Or he’d zoned out and missed her saying Morgana….

“Which means that Freya, your partner is Morgana!” Aithusa announced with a wide smile.

Freya dropped his hand as Morgana seized her into a spin. Morgana looked utterly thrilled and was shrieking with excitement. Freya also looked happy in a shy sort of way. All around them the crowd was going wild with excitement. Merlin suddenly realised neither he nor Arthur had moved at all. He looked across to the handsome blonde to find him standing there, mouth hanging open in shock. 

So no one had told the professionals either. He mused for a moment how impressive it must have been for them to keep this a secret. Then the reality of it hit him. 

He had Arthur for a partner. He had Arthur bloody Pendragon for a partner on Camelot Come Dancing.

“YES!” Merlin screeched and did a funny sort of happy hop from foot to foot. Arthur was now walking over to him, looking somewhat dazed but polite. Merlin ignored the offered hand and swept him into a hug instead. “YES!” 

“Please don’t deafen me before we’ve even done a single dance.” Arthur mumbled into the embrace. 

Merlin pulled back and tried not to yell again. He wasn’t able to stop himself practically bouncing with excitement though. Arthur fixed him with an exasperated look and then threw an arm around his shoulders, dragging him off to their mark. 

“Come on, _Mer_ lin.”

***** ***** *****

Aithusa and Helen stepped out onto the dance floor.

“Well, now that we’ve matched all our celebrities to their dance partners it’s time to hear from our judges what they think.” Aithusa gestured to the podium where the four judges sat. “Gwaine, are there any pairings that particularly stood out for you?”

“Oh definitely! This year has an amazing line up and I can’t wait to get to see all of the couples dance. But the couple I am most excited by is Percival and Lamia. Did you get a look at the _muscles_ on that boy?! I am excited. Definitely excited.” The audience laughed as Gwaine blew a kiss to Percival.

Helen laughed as Gwaine winked over at Percival. “Excellent. Gwen, what about you? Any thoughts on our potential champions?”

Gwen clasped her hands together and smiled across at the dance couples. “Oh, they’re all brilliant, and I’m sure we’ve got some surprises in store this year. But for me I think it was Freya and Morgana that really caught my eye. Morgana is built to lead and that’s something we’ve not been able to see from our pro women so far. Freya has got a really cat like grace about her that should do well in ballroom, but I think she might also have a bit of a dark side about her that will make for a really steamy performance in the latin dances too.”

Aithusa fixed her gaze on the unsmiling judge at the end of the row. “Uther, you’re known for your cut down opinions, but you’re going to have to save those until after we’ve seen our couples first dances. For now, who would you put your money on?”

“Well, normally my bets would go on anyone that has Arthur or Morgana for a partner, but this year I’m not convinced.” Uther raised an eyebrow as the audience booed him. “I think for a good, strong, traditional performance that could have the edge I’d put my money on Leon and Mithian.”

“And finally, Kilgharrah, as head judge, who have you got your eye on?” 

Kilgharrah smiled widely and the audience was completely quiet waiting for him to speak. The older man had a real aura of power about him. “I’ve been waiting for a partnership that would really challenge the young Pendragon and I think we’ve finally found it. Yes, he has lead two other celebrities to win the glitter ball before, but this time I think he has matched with someone truly worthy. I can see an as yet untapped talent in Merlin. Yes, with Arthur to lead him I think he could be a powerful dancer. I foresee great things for them.”

Helen smiled at Kilgharrah as the audience applauded. “Well, now that we’ve heard from our judges there’s only one think left to say before they head off to the training rooms-” She turned and stepped into hold with Aithusa- “Start dancing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any particular votes for any song/dance combos you want to see let me know!


	2. Week 1

**Training, Week One.**

Merlin was nervous the first time he went into the practice studio. He had no magic shows on for the whole time he was on Camelot Come Dancing which left his schedule much more open than some of the others who still had commitments, but he also knew he was at a disadvantage to anyone who had been to stage school, was used to being on screen, was athletic, or who simply had some musical knowledge. The closest he had ever come to being musical were primary school recorder lessons.

Arthur played the excited dance partner for the cameras but Merlin could tell it was just an act. He was still thrilled to have bagged such a good partner, but it did take off some of the shine of it all knowing that Arthur was unhappy to be landed with him. As soon as the camera crew left them for the day he resolved to confront Arthur about whether he had an issue dancing with a man, or simply just with Merlin himself. However, when it came down to it he couldn’t bring himself to risk the little partnership they did have. 

A bigger problem than their partnership was Merlin’s dancing ability. He was a complete beginner in almost every way. He had never danced before and wasn’t built for the hours of rehearsals that were both physically and mentally exhausting. By the time he was voted off he would be dead already. He often recognised the steps and how they should look, and he knew most of their names, which drew Arthur’s rather confused attention, but he had no idea how to make his body do what it was meant to. The worst of it was that they had been landed with the cha-cha-cha, which Uther was always vicious in his criticism of people’s attempts, and the song they had been given was A Kind of Magic. As much as he loved the Queen song, Merlin could already see how he was being set up as the comedy fall guy and he hated it.

***** ***** *****

It was Thursday. They had only one full day left before the first show. Arthur had turned into a tyrant and was driving Merlin even harder than ever. When they next came to the end of the routine, Merlin did a comedy stagger and feigned collapsing onto the floor.

“You’re trying to kill me!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You _are_!” Merlin threw an arm over his face and groaned dramatically.

“Get up.”

“Make me.”

There was a long pause, and then sound of footsteps retreating. “You can take five minutes to rest then we go through it again,” Arthur called back to him.

Merlin closed his eyes and sighed. He wasn’t sure what he had been hoping for, but this wasn’t it. He just had to get through this week of training, survive his first performance, then hopefully next week he would get something better.

***** ***** *****

Arthur was impressed by the way Merlin was picking up the routine. He was clumsy, yes, but beneath that he had a natural rhythm and musicality that could be his ticket to another final. Merlin also seemed to have a confusing amount of knowledge of dance steps for someone who had never had a lesson in their life. Arthur was trying not to push too much for the reason behind that. Perhaps Merlin was some kind of Camelot super fan and he was just too embarrassed to admit it. Whatever the reason it made teaching him the routine a lot easier.

He had done his best with the music and dance combo they had been given but it was painfully obvious the producers didn’t have high hopes of Merlin going all that far and so were intending to make the most of the laughs while they had him. Arthur would do everything in his power not to leave Merlin a comedy throw away. He would put some stern words in the right ears if he had to. For week one they were stuck, but he was determined he would get Merlin out there, show them all just how good he could be, and so change the course of their plans without having to risk his own neck unless he had to.

Nervousness was only natural for the first week, but Arthur felt especially apprehensive this time. He tried to hide it from Merlin. No point making the poor man any more worried than he already was. Still, there was something in Merlin’s manner when they were together that made him think. They filmed all their shots for the opening titles, credits, and other filler material. It took until the last session for Arthur to work out what the difference was this year beyond the obvious gender situation. Merlin never threw himself at Arthur the way his other partners had. It was nice not to have some near stranger pawing at him, but somehow the lack of it felt _more_ awkward this time. He shouldn’t care that Merlin didn’t elevate him to some kingly status, had originally been drawn to his irreverent way of treating him even, but he found himself oddly put out not to be the object of his partner’s desire.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week One.**

The professional dancers left the dancefloor after the opening group routine.

Aithusa and Helen entered from the sides of the raised area by the musicians and stood before the cheering crowd. 

They spoke together as the noise died down. “Hello! Welcome to Camelot Come Dancing, and our first live show.”

There was more applause, and then Aithusa continued. “Last week we revealed our twelve couples and tonight we get to see them dance together for the very first time.”

Helen took up the intro next. “And as if that isn’t terrifying enough they have to face our four judges. Let’s welcome Gwen Smith, Gwaine Green, Kilgharrah Dragon, and Uther Pendragon!” 

The crowd cheered at each name, although there were a few pantomime boos for Uther.

“So now we welcome our twelve new couples -”

Cricketer and presenter, Leon and his partner Mithian  
Politician, Elena and her partner Will  
Guitarist for the band The Knights, Lancelot and his partner Morgause  
Model and beauty columnist, Sophia and her partner Daegal  
Albion rugby star, Percival and his partner Lamia  
Actor and presenter, Alice and her partner Alator  
YouTuber, Mordred and his partner Kara  
Olympic champion rower, Isolde and her partner Tristan  
News reporter, Elyan and his partner Nimueh  
Actress, Vivian and her partner Cenred  
Magician, Merlin and his partner Arthur  
and finally - Singer, Freya and her partner Morgana

As each name was called out the couple entered, gave the crowd a wave, and descended the stairs. Once they were all assembled Aithusa and Helen introduced the first couple to dance, Isolde and Tristan (there were already rumours flying about them), and then the rest of the couples left for the green room while the VT of Isolde and Tristan’s week played for the audience at home and the stage hands set up the floor.

Isolde and Tristan scored well for a first dance and the judges made encouraging comments. Next up Sophia and Daegal wowed everyone with their Salsa. Leon and Mithian also did well in their foxtrot. Most of the other couples passed without incident. Percival forgot some of his steps of his samba but dealt with the criticism stoically, and Alice made up in style and charm what she lacked in speed and skill in her Jive. 

The only real disaster was Lancelot and Morgause. Lancelot was just not cut out for the tango. He was just too ‘nice’ according to Gwen, and ‘common and boring’ according to Uther. 

Merlin and Arthur were next after them, with only Mordred and Kara, and Elena and Will left to perform after them.

***** ***** *****

Merlin tried to breathe evenly as they stood on their marks waiting for the first notes of the music to start up. He was panicking. Every step he had ever learned was evaporating from his mind with the stress.

As the music began he felt some of the fear falling away. He couldn’t deny there was some joy at being there on Camelot Come Dancing, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit reminiscent of the one Freddie himself had worn in the music video for A Kind of Magic. Their theme had him as the magician, obviously, and Arthur as a playing card he had brought to life. It was ridiculous, but kind of fun. 

The moves of the dance came back to him as he went through them but he was so intensely focussed that his smile felt strained and his joints ached with the tension in them. His mind was one endless stream of counting, steps, and corrections. He was smiling like his life depended on it, but it felt like a mechanical thing.

Arthur made eye contact and gave him an encouraging smile but that just reminded him of all the things he was probably not doing. Were his hands positioned right? What about his feet? He stumbled slightly as they moved out of hold. When Arthur’s hands were on his he felt safe, but once he was on his own he was all at sea. He wished their first dance could have been something like a waltz so they could be closer. 

Finally, they moved into the last sequence. He knew the dance was short, less than two minutes, but it felt like forever on the dance floor with all those people watching. He spun into the last hold, the lights flared, and the graphics spun out a series of cards across the floor, and Arthur froze back in his frame. As the music died away, Merlin tuned into the audience applauding and he breathed a ragged sigh of relief. At least he hadn’t completely messed it up. Arthur broke his pose and grabbed Merlin by the hand, clapping him on the should with the other in congratulations, then dragged him over to the judges.

Helen smiled at them as they arrived beside the judges’ podium. “Well done, Merlin! That really was a _magic_ first dance.”

Merlin smiled in return and tried to repress the urge to cringe. He knew Helen was being kind rather than mocking, but he was struggling to make himself believe that.

“Yeah, it was good fun. Great to get out there and actually dance, you know? I’ve been looking forward to this all week,” he lied.

“That’s great! Now, over to the judges for their comments. Gwaine, what did you think?”

“It wasn’t that bad. I could tell you put a lot of work into it. I wasn’t really feeling the vibes though. I guess it was probably just nerves, mate, but you need to relax into the dance more, have real fun, let yourself go a bit!” Gwaine swung his arms wide in emphasis and Kilgharrah dodged out of his way with a fixed grimace.

“Alright, thank you Gwaine,” Helen laughed as the judges got resettled after Gwaine’s antics. “What did you think, Gwen?”

“Yes, I agree with Gwaine.” She had to pause as Gwaine leaned over Kilgharrah to high five her. “It was a good dance, nice and technical, only a couple of stumbles, but I don’t think you were really enjoying it.”

Helen indicated for Kilgharrah to speak next.

“When I saw you in the launch show young magician I told you to focus on the feel of the dance. It is clear you can learn the steps and mostly do them all right, but there was no connection to the music, your partner, or the dance itself. If you want to progress well then you will need to connect with it all much more.”

Merlin felt his stomach sink. So far it had all been pretty bad, and there was only Uther left. He fixed his smile more firmly on his face. Arthur edged a little closer and took his hand. The touch was grounding and made him feel a bit better. He didn’t want to have failed Arthur so soon in the competition.

Uther looked at them with a sour expression. “Well,” he drawled, “that was a rather lacklustre performance. I can see Arthur has done well teaching you the steps, but beyond that there was _zero_ stage presence.” Uther sighed and looked away with nothing more to say. The audience booed him, but Merlin was rather inclined to think he was right. 

“Aw, well, I loved it!” Helen reached out and squeezed Merlin’s free hand. “Off you go, and then we’ll get the scores.”

Merlin couldn’t get up the stairs and away from the dance floor fast enough.

***** ***** *****

Arthur watched as Merlin smiled his way through the post dance interview. To look at him you’d think he was happy, but Arthur didn’t believe his smiles. He hadn’t thought Merlin could act, but now he was reassessing that assumption. Merlin cheered along with the others as Mordred scored highly for his Jive, and gave Elena a hug when she scored bottom of the leader board for her rather bizarre Samba. The woman was laughing at her own chaotic performance and Arthur could tell she genuinely didn’t care that it had gone badly, unlike Merlin who was faking his nonchalance.

Arthur was annoyed the judges had been so harsh. For a first dance it really hadn’t gone that badly. They had scored fairly average so they sat in the middle of the leader board, but their words had been unnecessarily cutting for the first week. If this had been any of his previous partners he would have broken out of his usual fear of being tactile and given them a hug. Something was stopping him doing that with Merlin. Perhaps it was the fact Merlin wasn’t turning to him for comfort at all. Or perhaps it was because he genuinely wanted to hug someone for once. Whatever the reason, he settled for only throwing an arm around Merlin’s shoulders as they did the post show filming, and then they went their separate ways until the next round of training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I am so madly invested in this idea now. I've got a spreadsheet and everything. I just wish it was real and I could get to see this lot dancing.  
> I've got a few songs lined up now, but please do let me know if there are any you want to see (and who for if not Team Merthur!) I think I might need my first fic playlist by the end of this.


	3. Week 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Best intentions etc... This has been a bit of A Week so I'm now a week behind on updates. I've got about half of week 3 already sorted though so if I can get that done today then I'd be caught up.

**Training, Week Two.**

Arthur looked across at Merlin. He was clearly disheartened by their first performance. Arthur wanted to cheer him up somehow but he was at a loss as to how when the other man was pretending that everything was fine.

Arthur nudged Merlin with his shoulder as they took a short break. “You know, the judges were pretty harsh over last week’s routine.” 

Merlin shrugged, “I thought they were pretty spot on actually.”

“Just because what they said was right, doesn’t mean they should have said it they way they did.”

“If I couldn’t take such basic criticism then I shouldn’t have come on the show. I’ll just learn from it. I’ll really enjoy it this week.” Merlin turned away, effectively shutting off the conversation.

Arthur sighed. It was just a competition, so he really shouldn’t get so involved, but year after year he found himself drawn into the lives of his partners and the drive to succeed. This year was different though. There was something about Merlin that made him care about him as a person, as well as a dancer in a competition. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. 

They had the Viennese Waltz this week and Arthur couldn’t be happier with it. Giving Merlin time in hold would improve his confidence, and he seemed like he would be more suited to the ballroom rather than the more showy party dance styles. They had also got lucky with a good song, Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, which was perfect to build a narrative to. 

As it was also Samhain the night of the show, they were making the dance a little spooky. Arthur was to be a ghost or angel, someone that had passed on, and Merlin was playing the part of the lover left behind in the mortal world, mourning the loss of his love. They could get a big emotional impact from that with absolutely no props and minimal staging. The real show was in the skill of the dance, and the acting of the story. Arthur was quietly hopeful – if only Merlin would cheer up and get into the part.

***** ***** *****

Arthur spun Merlin into another turn, and Merlin tripped, only avoiding falling because Arthur’s arm was around his waist. The dance ground to a halt again.

“Come on _Mer_ lin! I know you’re better than this. From the top.”

Merlin felt his last nerve snap. “I don’t know why you’re bothering since you so clearly wish you hadn’t been landed with me!”

Arthur froze, a deep frown lining his brow. “That’s what you think?”

Merlin deflated, his anger suddenly gone and weariness left in its place. “Well it is kind obvious.” 

“I was… I _am_ glad to be partnered with you, Merlin.”

Merlin crossed his arms across his chest defensively. “That isn’t what it looked like when they announced it, nor how it’s felt since then.”

“Oh,” Arthur looked confused now, “right, yeah. I can see how you might think… Look, they had this vote and asked our opinions and I voted for having same sex couples. I guess I just never thought they’d pick me. They’re always so keen on the way the women respond to me.” Arthur shook his head looking a little unsettled. “I was surprised when they announced it, that’s all. As soon as I adjusted I was really happy. I could tell from that first time we met that you had potential and I liked your honesty. People tend to make me up to be so high and mighty and I… I don’t like that, not really.”

Merlin stared at Arthur, lost for words. Now that he thought back to what he knew of Arthur, it was always the women flirting with him. Every memory he had of Arthur from the previous series he had watched he was friendly but removed, distant, encouraging but in a professional way. He was all drive and seriousness about training and then on the dance floor he was a better actor than most of the people who actually did it for a living. Merlin had known all that, but somehow he had come into this expecting more. He had seen that first glimpse of a man with a teasing sense of humour, someone who had smiled so warmly when they parted that he had foolishly expected that to be how Arthur was all the time. 

“Sorry,” Merlin muttered. “Perhaps we can start over?”

“The dance or us?”

“Both?”

Arthur smiled and ruffled Merlin’s hair, and there it was again, that glimpse of someone kinder, gentler. “Come on then. We’ve not got all day.”

***** ***** *****

Training went much better after the air was cleared. Merlin relaxed more around Arthur and his personality really began to show through. He wasn’t afraid to tease Arthur and to his surprise Arthur began to tease him in return. Beneath his aloof and egotistical front, Arthur turned out to be kind and funny. Merlin finally began to feel like he had a partner rather than just someone he had to dance with.

He was still struggling with the acting of the dance, but he was loving the steps. He remembered doing the basic steps around the living room with his mother when he was only six years old. He loved the waltz and he was once again loving the song. It also helped that neither of those made him feel like the comedy loser that he had felt like he was being set up to be in week one. The main issue became his tendency to smile joyfully as he danced with his ‘ghost lover’. Arthur complained he should look sad. Merlin countered that what was more joyful than getting to see someone you loved once more? Although the truth was more that he had no idea how to act the part of someone grieving a lover. He wasn’t sure if he had ever really been in love. Not that he would admit that to Arthur.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Two.**

Aithusa and Helen beamed at the cameras as the audience cheered. “Hello! Welcome back to week two of Camelot Come Dancing!”

“This week it’s Samhain so everything is a little bit spooky.” 

The band struck up a ominous tune while Aithusa feigned fright and the audience laughed.

“Now, this week all our couples are back with us, but at the end of the night those in the bottom two with the panel and viewer votes combined will face the dance off and then out judges will decide which couple will be the first to leave us.”

There were several sympathetic ‘aw’ sounds from the audience.

“So, with no further delay, lets welcome our Camelot stars.”

***** ***** *****

Merlin and Arthur were going second this time. Merlin wasn’t sure whether to be thrilled that he didn’t have to wait so long, or terrified about going out there so soon.

His fears only grew as he listened to poor Lancelot and Morgause get completely torn apart by the judges. Lancelot hadn’t got any luckier in week two. His salsa had some good quick choreography but Lance couldn’t have looked more awkward in the blindingly neon costume they had coerced him into and once again got told off for being too ‘polite’ and not ‘showy enough’. 

Merlin fiddled with the way the scarf he was wearing sat around his neck until Arthur gently pulled his hand away and squeezed it reassuringly. Merlin glanced sideways at his partner and felt his breath catch in his throat. Every time he caught a glimpse of Arthur in his white suit it made his heart stutter. It wasn’t fair for any man to be as achingly beautiful as Arthur.

The moment finally came for them to step out onto the dancefloor. The music started up and Merlin felt all his fears falling away. He wasn’t worried about the steps any more. He knew this dance. He could feel it in his bones. Every spin, turn, and change flowed through him, made natural by the hours and hours of practice they had put in to the routine.

Arthur was leading this dance. It had felt like the right move for this routine and Merlin was loving every moment of being swept around the floor by such a talented dancer. He knew he was smiling again and that he had completely lost the persona he was meant to be portraying, but he couldn’t help the sheer joy he felt in the dance. When they managed to achieve the complicated fleckerl step the audience cheered for them and Merlin smiled with all his heart. At the end of the dance they parted from hold and Arthur acted as though he was pulled back through the veil that was rolled down from the rigs while Merlin reached out as if to try and keep hold of him. He tried to make his expression suitably sorrowful but suspected it wasn’t that convincing. 

Once the moment had passed and they were officially done Merlin launched himself at Arthur who, although a little stunned, spun him into a hug with a wide smile. 

“Well done _Mer_ lin,” he whispered into Merlin’s ear as the crowd cheered for them.

Hand in hand, they ran over to their marks for the judging. Merlin knew he should probably let Arthur’s hand go, but he didn’t want to. He was just so happy.

Helen smiled at the pair. “Wow! Now that was a truly touching performance. I could see how much you loved that dance, Merlin.”

Merlin ducked his head, suddenly shy. “Yeah, it really was amazing. I loved this week, even if it did make me crazy dizzy.” 

Helen laughed along with the audience. “Oh yes, nothing quite like the Viennese Waltz to get the head spinning. Well done for surviving all those turns! Now, over to our judges to see what they thought.”

Gwen clasped he hands together and smiled at Merlin. “That was such a beautiful dance! I could see how much happier you were this week. You really gave your all to it and there were some wonderful steps you worked in there. I’m not sure you really got the character, but I could tell that _you_ gave everything to that dance. Well done!”

“Thank you, Gwen. Now, Gwaine, what did you think? Last week you wanted to see more joy in Merlin’s dancing. Did you get that this week?”

Gwaine winked at Merlin and he felt himself blushing. “Merlin! My man! That was _exactly_ what I was asking for. Great job on really connecting with the dance. I doubt anyone could miss how much you enjoyed that dance.” Gwaine shot a dirty look at Uther on the opposite end of the bench.

Uther sniffed disdainfully. “As if I’d dispute that. You certainly enjoyed the dance. I’ll give you that, but once again the acting was absent. You need to work on your posture as well.” The audience began to boo and Uther made a vague shooing motion at them which raised a laugh instead.

Helen smiled and clapped Merlin on the back supportively. “Anything else to add Uther? No? Well, thank you anyway for your, as always, concise thoughts. Kilgharrah, did you also see the connection with the dance you were looking for?”

“I did indeed! As my colleagues have both said, there was a true connection there with the dance and your technique was incredible for someone in week two. I was pleased to see there were no stumbles this week, and despite what Uther says your posture has improved. Keep working on it, and learn to act, and you might just live up to your destiny.”

“Thank you, Kilgharrah. Well done, Merlin. Off you go to get your scores.”

Merlin ran off the floor, hand still locked with Arthur’s, and felt like his heart might burst with how happy he was in that moment.

***** ***** *****

**The Results Show, Week Two.**

Merlin’s happiness didn’t last. He scored well, landing them firmly in the middle of the board once combined with the scores from the previous week, but the middle was a perilous place to be. He hoped he had done enough, but when the spotlight on him and Arthur turned red, indicating they were in the bottom two, he felt his joy from the previous night evaporate.

They went up against Lancelot and Morgause in the dance off. Merlin was a mess before he went on to dance for the second time, but Arthur took him aside and gave him a cautious hug.

“You can do this, Merlin. I believe in you.”

Merlin looked into his partner’s eyes and he believed him. Arthur was looking at him with such faith and confidence that he couldn’t begin to think of letting him down. He went out onto the dance floor and poured his very soul into trying to act the part. He didn’t know if it would be enough, but he had done everything he could.

When the dance was over he saw Lancelot waiting in the wings, looking like he wanted to be sick.

Merlin shook Lancelot’s hand. “Good luck! I know you’re gonna do so much better this time.” 

Lancelot looked at him, puzzled. “Thank you, but shouldn’t you be hoping I fall flat on my face?”

Merlin laughed, despite his own nerves. “No. I know it is a competition but I wish no one ever had to leave, and I know you’ve tried so hard, it would be sad to see you leave.”

Arthur joined them then and also wished Lancelot luck.

“You’ve really lucked out with your partner, Merlin,” Lancelot said with a sad smile. 

“I think I’m the one that got lucky,” Arthur countered. 

Morgause emerged from make up at that point and the pair took to the dance floor once more. Their dance was, if anything, more stilted than it had been the day before and it was obvious Morgause wasn’t best pleased with her parter. Lancelot just gave one of his quiet smiles to Merlin as they took up their positions to hear the results and Merlin knew then exactly how lucky he had been not to get landed with Morgause. He was competitive, but not in the vicious way Morgause seemed to be.

Arthur’s hand found its way into Merlin’s as they awaited the results. With every vote that went to them from the judges, and every encouraging comment about the improved acting, Merlin relaxed a little more, although his feelings remained conflicted. He was sad to see Lancelot go, but he was also happy not to go home first. He didn’t hesitate to hug Lancelot tightly in commiseration, despite barely knowing the man. Morgause stood off to one side, trying to look like she wasn’t bitter. 

“Well done, Merlin,” Lancelot said quietly into his ear as they embraced. “Now, go on and win this ting for me eh?”

Merlin didn’t have time to object before Lancelot was swept away for his last dance, and farewells from the other dancers, professionals, and hosts. Arthur slung an arm around his shoulders as he stood there trying to puzzle it out. Merlin leaned into the touch without thinking. He wasn’t going to be the winner of course. He’d been in the bottom two for the first elimination. He would just have to try and be happy for whatever extra time they got after this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading if you're following this mad little venture. I know it is niche but I was so happy for the support of those of you that enjoyed it so far.  
> Special thanks for this chapter go to Emmee for the song choice.   
> If anyone has any other song requests for future weeks do let me know! I've got to find a good fit for a Jive for week 3.


	4. Week 3 - Movies Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got caught up! Yay!

**Training, Week Three – Movies Week.**

“Why do you insist on wearing these things?” Arthur playfully pulled at Merlin’s latest scarf. Merlin immediately fended him off and tried to smile but it looked forced. The man was clearly far too hot from the endless repetition of the routine and was down to a t-shirt and shorts yet he still kept on a scarf.

“They’re part of my image. My show persona.”

“You’re not on show now, Merlin. There aren’t even any cameras. Come on, just take the damn thing off.” He grabbed for the thick red fabric again and this time Merlin pushed him away, clearly upset.

“Look, just leave it, okay?” He readjusted the scarf so it fit neatly once more. “I’m fine with it on.”

Arthur was confused. Merlin was pretty open with his feelings and opinions normally, but this touchiness seemed different somehow. He didn’t want to push the matter so he stopped trying to convince Merlin to take the scarf off, but the unresolved questions about it kept on nagging at him. Merlin spent the rest of the day twitchy and out of sorts. They weren’t making fast enough progress, so Arthur resolved to address the issue delicately, or at least as delicately as he could given his tendency to bluntness, when they next took a break.

***** ***** *****

Merlin slumped down on the floor and rested his head back against the wall. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t help it. He’d avoided being the first person to leave, but only just, then on top of that he had been landed with Jive for week three, he was definitely going to die of exhaustion, and it was far too hot to practice with a scarf on.

Another body settled down beside him. Arthur leaned forward, arms outstretched on his knees. Merlin shifted slightly so his expression would be better hidden. He was too tired to try and put on yet another fake smile.

“You’re upset about being in the dance off aren’t you.”

Merlin shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Or is this about the scarf?”

Merlin ignored the question and leaned forward to retie his shoe lace.

“I was a bit pushy about that wasn’t I?”

It was probably the closest he was going to get to an apology. Merlin leant back again and made a spontaneous decision. “A bit. But you’re right, it is too hot in it.” 

He unwound the fabric and carefully folded and set aside the scarf before conspicuously reaching out to grab the two water bottles that sat off to his side. He could hear the slight intake of breath as Arthur noticed the old scar that ran up the back of his neck. He knew it looked bad, but he never really saw it himself. Merlin sat back and offered one of the bottles to Arthur who took it from him with only a nod.

“I’m keeping it on when the cameras are here, costuming and make up know to sort it for the shows, but perhaps I could leave it off when it’s just us?”

Arthur made an exaggerated considering expression, ever the performer. “You might look a little less like a beetroot then.”

“A beetroot?!”

“Mhmm… all red and sweaty. It’s not your finest look.”

Merlin tried not to blush thinking how that implied Arthur thought he had a good look, one that he might like a bit more… He swiped his bottle round to emphasise whatever retort he intended to make but accidentally managed to send a jet of water right down Arthur’s front.

“Hey!” Arthur looked indignant for a moment, but then they both broke into fits of laughter. 

Arthur flicked water at Merlin in retaliation and from there it descended into a full blown water fight that left them both drenched and the floor wet. Merlin’s sides ached from laughing. He sank down to lie on the damp floor.

“Thank you.”

Arthur sat down beside him after making sure the spot he had picked was dry. “What for?”

“For not making a thing of it.”

Arthur just shrugged, clearly uncomfortable in the realm of ‘emotions’ and then offered Merlin a hand up. “Come on, we need to at least get the last sequence down before we finish for the day.”

Merlin groaned but allowed himself to be dragged to standing. It was going to be a long, tiring week, but at least he was doing something he enjoyed, and with someone whose company he enjoyed.

***** ***** *****

Arthur stared at the notes left by the choreographer. He tended to choreograph all his own routines for the show but he wasn’t familiar with the source material they were basing this routine on and Jive was not his speciality.

“So, are you worried about us getting into character?” Merlin asked him disturbing his thoughts.

He frowned at the other man, confused. “Why?”

“Well… It is movies week, and the judges want me to act better.”

“I’m sure you can pull it off. You’ll be great as… er…” Arthur frowned at the name scribbled on the top of his staging notes. “Mia? Isn’t that a girl’s name?”

Merlin’s mouth opened and closed a few times in a manner rather reminiscent of a dying fish. “How do you not know… Haven’t you seen Pulp Fiction?!”

Arthur just shrugged, “I spent most of my youth training to become a professional dancer, not lounging about in cinemas.”

At this point the camera crew, who had been lounging to one side of the studio reviewing the shots they had got of training, all focussed in on Arthur. 

“You’ve never seen Pulp Fiction?” The main camerawoman demanded of him. 

Arthur shrugged again, “I’ve heard of it. It’s a crime thing, isn’t it?”

 _“It’s a crime thing!”_ The woman parroted back his words in a scandalised tone. “Right. Get on the phone George. We’re reworking the whole of the pre-dance VT for these two. Merlin, you’re going to show him Pulp Fiction. Arthur, you’re going to help him get into character, evidently with a small gender swap in there.”

Arthur looked between a laughing Merlin and the now rather animated crew who were hastily drawing up plans and discussing locations they could film the segment in. What had he got into now?

***** ***** *****

Merlin, once he had an actual idea of the role he was meant to encapsulate, took to acting like a fish to water. Arthur, who was normally a consummate professional where it came to acting, was all adrift where it came to the scene they were emulating. Something about the energy between the pair – it felt right - and yet something about it unsettled him. It definitely made a lot more sense of the choreography, and of the costume and wig he’d been fitted for. He couldn’t help but wonder what on earth they would put Merlin in for his role.

The dress rehearsal answered that particular question. Arthur thought back to all the skimpy and revealing dresses he had seen his female partners in over the years but not a one was a patch on how sexy he found Merlin in a sheer white shirt held barely closed by a single button and almost skin tight black trousers. Merlin’s carefully dishevelled black hair and lightly eyeliner accented blue eyes did not help matters at all. Arthur had never felt more bisexual than he did in that moment as he fought back the urge to drag his dance partner off somewhere private and ravish him senseless. For all that he enjoyed Merlin’s company he had never even stopped to think of him as attractive before. The unsettled feeling he had been getting from the parts they were acting suddenly made a lot more sense. It was fitting to the scene though, so he hoped he could play off any awkwardness as being part of the role.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Three – Movies Week.**

Arthur had won Camelot Come Dancing twice before, but he had never had a routine go as well, nor a celebrity dance partner pull something off so perfectly, as things went that evening. They were scheduled around the middle of the show. Alice and Alator opened the show with a mediocre Cha-Cha-Cha; it wasn’t really suited to the older lady and would probably not stand her in good stead for staying in the competition. Percival and Lamia performed a dramatic Tango that scored well, swiftly followed by Leon and Mithian getting the highest score of the series so far for their Viennese Waltz. Those would be hard acts to follow, but luckily they came directly after Elena and Will who performed the single least romantic Rumba Arthur had ever had the misfortune to see. Merlin got on well with the pair, but he found them both insufferable.

As their VT aired Merlin and Arthur got into their positions in the film set replica booth that had been made up for the purpose. Merlin was smiling before they danced for the first time and Arthur couldn’t help smiling back. A runner tipped counted them down to the camera going live on them. Merlin slipped into his role, a confident little smile playing across his lips and Arthur let his own face fall into the suffering expression of his own character. 

The instant the music began he knew this was going to be one of the best routines he’d ever been a part of. Merlin exuded an energy and skill that would have rivalled many a professional dancer. His frame was spot on, his kicks and flicks precise and clean. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation or misplaced step through the whole thing, and Merlin’s acting was in another league to what it had been only a week before. 

When they finished the routine Arthur didn’t even think for a second before pulling Merlin in close to him and spinning him round as he whooped with excitement. Merlin was equally as high and near deafened Arthur with the screaming in his ear. The audience’s response was deafening. They had a standing ovation all round and two of the judges were even on their feet applauding. Helen had to practically drag them over to their marks for the scoring.

“WOW! Guys, that was… well, just take a look at the audience.” The audience cheered loudly again as Helen waved her arms out to indicate them. “You’ve even got Gwaine and Gwen on their feet. What an incredible dance for _week three!_ Gwaine, let’s go to you first, what did you think of _that_ then?”

Gwaine bounded back to his feet having only just sat down. “Week three! Merlin! Where did that come from?! I can’t fault a thing. It was perfect. Perfect!” Kilgharrah glared as Gwaine punctuated the last with a wide gesture that nearly overbalanced him into the other man’s lap.

“Gwen, you were on your feet through much of that. Can I take it from that you thought it was good?” Helen asked.

“Good? No, it was spectacular! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a good Jive on Camelot, let alone this early in a series. Merlin, Arthur, I think you’re the ones to beat now.” Gwen gave them another round of applause and the audience cheered again.

“Kilgharrah, you’re head judge and you’ve seen a lot of Jives in your time, what were your thoughts?”

“Merlin, _this_ is what I meant when I said you were capable of great things. You and Arthur have a powerful connection that really elevates your performances. Keep up the good work. Continue to learn and improve and there will be little that could stop you.”

Arthur glanced at his partner to see him smiling joyfully at the praise from the notoriously tetchy and exacting old man. His heart soared to see him so happy. Arthur wrapped his arm around Merlin’s shoulders and pulled him closer. He looked back to the judges bench as Helen called on Uther. Surely even someone as miserable as his drama queen of a father had to have found something worthy about such a good routine. Uther stared at his son and Merlin for a long pause and Arthur found himself reflexively gripping Merlin tigher.

Uther sighed and looked down at his notes before looking back up and speaking, “Merlin, Arthur, loathe as I am to say this… that dance was A-MA-ZING!” The crowd erupted once more. The noise of cheering drowned out Merlin’s startled gasp and Arthur’s own sigh of relief.

***** ***** *****

Merlin felt slightly dazed as he watched the scores come in. They got three nines and a ten from Gwaine. Arthur leaned in to whisper that in a later week it would have been a perfect forty. Merlin couldn’t quite believe it was _that_ good, but it still made him crazy happy. He watched as Sophia and Daegal did well in the Samba and Freya and Morgana impressed with a Foxtrot but even their high scores couldn’t match. The other dances flew past in a blur, and before he knew it they were setting up for the pre-recording of the results show. He was too baffled by his success to truly worry, but was thrilled all the same when their name was called out as being through to the next week. He couldn’t wait to call him Mum. She was going to be thrilled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I literally just stole the dance Merlin and Arthur are doing here from the 2015 series of Strictly. Jay and Aliona did the BEST jive of ANY series. It's on YouTube [**\--HERE--**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m6MjsMXZ8I) if you want to watch it. I was looking for a good tune for them and then I remembered this routine and oh my gods I just had to go with it because I can totally see Merlin rocking Aliona's part and Arthur in Jay's... I shall take no criticism!
> 
> As always, shout if you've got any song ideas. I plotted most of them today but I'm still likely to need another three or so.


	5. Week 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm a couple of days late again, sorry! I hope you enjoy this though.

**Training, Week Four**

Merlin was still on a high from the weekend’s success when he got into the studio the following Monday. The results show had passed him by in what felt like moments. He was glad, if not a little surprised that Elena and Will had made it through the dance off and Alice and Alator were out. Alice had been a lovely lady, charming certainly, but he loved spending time with Elena and Will backstage between takes of filming. They both had a crazy sense of humour that he felt a sort of bond with. Merlin did enjoy spending time with Arthur, but he could be awfully serious sometimes.

The real highlight of the day had been calling his mum after the results show aired to share his joy. Hunith had cried, but Merlin was able to make out through her sobbing that they were tears of happiness. She promised him she would make it to one of the shows and he’d laughed and said she should probably make it sooner rather than later as week three was probably going to be the best he could ever dream of achieving. His mum had scolded him for that. She seemed to be of the opinion he had something of a talent for dancing. Merlin was having such a wonderful time he didn’t even try to argue with her on that.

Merlin’s happiness was only increased when the next week’s dance was revealed to be a Foxtrot to Take Me To Church by Hozier. After he had finished suffocating Arthur in an excited hug he had to excuse himself from the training room to call his Mum again. Hunith grumbled about being woken so early but quickly perked up when Merlin told her about the Foxtrot. It was one of his favourite songs, and her favourite dance.

***** ***** *****

Arthur was really happy with how progress was going for a Monday. Merlin seemed even more devoted than usual to making sure he learned the routine. A few times when Arthur was explaining a technical point Merlin seemed to be grinning at him in a rather confusingly knowing way. He stopped in the middle of a point about timing when Merlin’s expression looked even more smug than usual.

“Why do you look like you know this already?”

Merlin’s grin faded to a shy sort of smile and he ducked his head. “I actually wanted to be a dancer when I was little.”

Arthur looked at Merlin curiously. “Really?”

“Yeah. My Mum was a dancer then. I wanted to ‘follow in her footsteps.’” Merlin laughed at his own joke.

“Why didn’t you?”

Merlin shrugged. “My Dad was a magician. He was away a lot with his shows. He used to tour the world and everything. It meant I never got to see him much. Then when I was seven I went to see one of his shows for the first time.” Merlin took a swig of water and rubbed his neck self-consciously.

“And you were so inspired you changed your dream career?” Arthur said when it seemed like Merlin might not continue.

“Not exactly. He… he died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“There was an accident. A lighting rig collapsed in rehearsals. Mum and I were in the wings. Dad saw what was about to happen and tried to push us clear but… well, he took the worst of it.”

Arthur was lost for words. He had no idea what to say to such a confession. Suddenly he regretted his rule not to look up anything about his partners beforehand so as not to influence his expectations of them.

“Dad passed away in hospital the next day. Mum’s injuries were mild but enough to stop her dancing again. I was mostly okay apart from…” Merlin reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck again. “A bit of glass. I was lucky really. If it had been just a fraction to the left I could’ve died. As it was, all I got was a big nasty cut and an ugly scar.”

Arthur reached up without thinking and traced the line of the scar where it disappeared beneath Merlin’s t-shirt. “I don’t think it’s ugly.”

He suddenly became aware of how his fingers were lingering on Merlin’s neck in an odd sort of embrace. He pulled his hand back as though he had been burned. Despite the myriad relationships and flings that happened as a result of the strange intimacy of training so close to someone for weeks on end he had never crossed that line. As far as Arthur was concerned there was no appropriate time in the process to take that step, and this was quite possibly the most inappropriate given they were talking about the loss of Merlin’s father. He quickly took a step back, distancing himself from temptation. Merlin was watching him with an unreadable expression on his face.

Arthur cleared his throat, awkward and ill at ease. “So why did you choose magic then?”

Merlin gave an easy smile and the tightness in Arthur’s chest eased a little. “Dad had this whole routine and so much of it he’d created himself. I guess I just felt like I was meant to carry on his legacy. I’ve spent years recreating his tricks. There’s only one left I’ve never performed. I’ve almost got it perfected but I want to make sure I get it just right before I risk it.”

Arthur nodded, he understood that pull to honour your parents by bearing their legacy. “My mother died when I was born. She was a dancer; a ballroom champion. My father was only ever a stage performer for all his allusions of grandeur. Father got rid of almost every photo, recording, and memento of her career, but I found one. I was only four, too young to understand, but I demanded to do what my mother used to. Father wanted to refuse but he gave in eventually.”

Arthur studied his shoes to hide the colour that had crept into his cheeks. He hadn’t meant to say so much. He never spoke to anyone about Ygraine. There was a moment of silence, then Merlin reached out and took his hand. Arthur looked up to find such a look of sincere empathy on Merlin’s face that his breath caught in his throat at the sight.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to know her. I know she would be so proud of you. You’re the best dancer I’ve ever seen.”

Merlin’s smile was so soft, his expression so kind, that Arthur once again had to remind himself that this was a line he didn’t cross. Still, a choice not to romance his dance partner didn’t mean he couldn’t make friends. Arthur didn’t really have any true friends but it felt like Merlin could be one if he just let his barriers down a little.

“Come on, we deserve a break, let’s go grab a coffee.” 

Merlin grimaced. “I’ll stick to tea if that’s alright by you.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, “yes, wouldn’t want to see what adding caffeine would do to your already over excitable personality.”

“Hey!”

“Come on Merlin.” Arthur turned and headed towards the exit, dragging Merlin along in his wake.

“You really are a prat,” Merlin grumbled, but he hurried to catch up, and never once did he let go of Arthur’s hand.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Four.**

This week Merlin and Arthur were closing the show. Merlin focussed his nerves by bouncing excitedly at every couple as they came back after their dance.

There were now only nine couples left in the competition. All the talk backstage was of Vivian and Cenred, who had had to leave the show due to some legal complication that had arisen. Merlin didn’t want to believe in idle gossip but he couldn’t help but laugh at the wild rumours that Vivian had fled the country to avoid being arrested for trying to burn down the studio of her latest film for including an unflattering shot of her. It was so preposterous that it might just be true.

Sophia and Daegal were dancing first. They scored passably well with a Waltz and while Daegal chatted happily with Merlin, Sophia looked like she wanted to be anywhere other than in his presence. Merlin shot a wink at Arthur as he gave the girl a hug when she wasn’t expecting it and was gratified to see Arthur having to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing. 

Leon and Mithian performed next. They excelled as always with their Salsa. Leon was much more polite and endured Merlin’s enthusiasm with a baffled kind of patience while Mithian and Arthur watched on from the sidelines. 

Elyan and Nimueh then stunned the judges with the first Charleston of the series. Merlin couldn’t believe that the normally reserved news reporter could pull off the dance with such charisma and cheered loudly as they joined them. 

Isolde and Tristan did a good job with their Quickstep next. Merlin kept a close eye on the pair as they laughed together. There had been rumours about all sorts of relationships so far, but his money was on Isolde and Tristan already being an item in secret, and he wouldn’t be surprised if it lasted far longer than their time on the show. He kept quiet about it, but when no one else was looking he gave Isolde a hug and whispered in her ear that he was happy for her. From the blush on her face he knew he had got it spot on.

Elena and Will did a disastrous Tango where Elena managed to stand on Will’s feet twice, and almost knocked him out as he tried to spin her into the last hold. Nothing could wipe the smile off her face though and Merlin laughed along with her as she raved about how much fun it had been despite all the mishaps.

Mordred and Kara were next up with a rather unimpressive American Smooth. The audience seemed to like the couple and there were no end of rumours that they were an item, but Merlin wasn’t a fan. Something about Mordred reminded him of his ex in the worst possible way. Mordred also had an annoying habit of finding ways to spend time talking with Arthur. Merlin told himself it wasn’t jealousy but rather a protective instinct. Merlin still smiled and congratulated them but he wasn’t sad when they didn’t linger long among the group.

Next up was Freya and Morgana. Their waltz was sweet and romantic in a way that made Merlin’s heart swell. If he had been straight he had no doubt that he would have been completely head over heels in love with both of them. As it was, he contented himself with pulling them both into a hug as soon as they were backstage while Arthur muttered dire warnings about not crying and ruining his stage makeup before they’d even performed. Merlin just stuck his tongue out and called Arthur a dollop-head while Freya laughed and Morgana smirked. 

There was now only Percival and Lamia left to perform before it was their turn to go on. Merlin bit his lip and tried not to hope that Percival made some kind of slip up. The giant of a man was really quite sweet when you got to know him and Merlin didn’t wish him ill really; he just wished that they wouldn’t be following anything too spectacular. 

He didn’t get his wish. Percival and Lamia performed a contemporary dance routine to ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’, for their Couple’s Choice. It was nothing short of incredible. Both funny and emotional all at the same time. Merlin cheered for them until Arthur had to wearily remind him not to wear himself out before their own routine.

***** ***** *****

Arthur had to hand it to Merlin; the man could find something to be enthusiastic about in the smallest of things. He wondered idly what it would be like to be so at ease with his own emotions. Not that there was much chance of that. Growing up with someone as flamboyant as Uther for a father left very little room for any drama in his own life.

As they stepped on to their marks for the start of the dance he had to lean in and quietly remind Merlin to get in character. They were going to be channelling some of the themes of the song so this wasn’t going to be a sweet and simple foxtrot. It was a technically complex routine with the added layer of the troubled romance they would be portraying.

He needn’t have worried. From the moment the music started it was like Merlin had slipped into another skin. He was technically good as always and hit each and every step of the routine on the right beat. Yet it was his characterisation that really elevated the performance. To look at the range of emotion Merlin portrayed through the dance you would think he had suffered through every harsh moment of the love they were acting out. 

Again and again Arthur found his expectations of Merlin exceeded and his perception of what he knew of the other man shattered. As they broke apart into their last poses, apart from one another but reaching out, he felt an overwhelming urge to close the distance and kiss Merlin, claim him, let everyone see exactly how much he thought of him. 

He didn’t of course. It was ridiculous really. He’d only known the man a month. They were dance partners and that was the line he didn’t cross.

Instead, as they got a standing ovation for the second week running, he let Merlin sweep him into one of his inexhaustible supply of hugs and then dragged him over to face the judges. Normally Arthur was the most respectful and quiet of the professional dancers when faced with the judges, but after Merlin had thrown so much of his heart into a routine like that he knew he would have to bite his lip not to retaliate if they laid any criticism on them. Merlin actually already looked like he might cry from the emotion of the dance, so Arthur pulled him in closer and squeezed his hand tightly. 

Helen also looked a little watery and she pulled Merlin in for a quick one armed hug before stepping back to do her usual spiel.

“Merlin, Arthur, I don’t care what this lot have to say, that was beautifully done. Four tens from me. Off you go!” The audience laughed. “No, no, obviously not, but I know I’m not alone when I say that was a really powerful routine. Thank you.” The audience began cheering for them once more. “Over to you Gwen,” Helen said over the noise.

Gwen looked like she wasn’t going to say anything at first. Then, she got to her feet and applauded along with the audience, “Wonderful. That was just wonderful. Merlin, your dancing improves week on week and your commitment to your performance is second to none. Well done.”

Gwen sat back down and Helen indicated for Uther to give his verdict next.

Uther steepled his fingers together and stared them both down. Arthur held his breath, praying his father wouldn’t be unkind. “That was not what I was expecting at all. There are of course areas where you need to work on things still, Merlin, like your hand shaping, and sometimes form gets a little lost in your exuberance-” The audience began to boo until Uther glared them into submission. “As I was saying. There is room for improvement, but that routine was a work of genius. Arthur, you should be proud of what you’ve created there.”

Arthur felt like his heart was in a vice. His father had just publicly congratulated him on something he had done. The competition may be about the celebrities but just in that moment he felt like he had won the true prize. Merlin nudged his shoulder and gave him a knowing smile.

Helen thanked Uther and then prompted Kilgharrah for his thoughts.

“Hmmm, well, I am a traditionalist, so I would have liked to see a bit more of the classic Foxtrot in there. However, as a whole piece I can’t fault it. Every week I see an improvement from you, Merlin. Keep up the hard work and I think we will be seeing you in the final.”

“Thank you, Kilgharrah. And last but by no means least, Gwaine, over to you.”

Gwaine was looking serious for once and Arthur felt another pang of worry. Gwaine never looked serious – he was certain he didn’t have a serious bone in his body. Then Gwaine stood and stepped out from the podium, walked the short distance over to where he was stood with Merlin and proceeded to shake their hands. Yet again the audience was cheering and Merlin looked to be on the verge of tears. Arthur had never felt so emotionally wrung out by a dance before in his life. 

“Well done. Thank you both for that. Helen had it right at the start – beautifully done.”

***** ***** *****

Merlin watched in awe as their scores came in. Two nines, from Uther and Kilgharrah, and two tens, from Gwen and Gwaine. Aithusa took his free hand in a sort of congratulatory handshake as he tried to pick his jaw up from the floor. Merlin’s other hand was still firmly held by Arthur’s. He distantly thought he ought to probably let go now, but Arthur didn’t seem too bothered by it, and it was a steady anchor amidst the turmoil that was completing such an intense routine and then getting such high praise and scores. He had got _two tens!_ Never in his wildest imagination had he foreseen such a possibility when he had agreed to the show.

“Well, that was impressive!” Aithusa grinned at them both. “Merlin, how do you feel after that? A flawless routine, and two tens! You must be proud of that.”

Merlin took a deep steady breath before replying. “I- I am. No doubt about it. I wanted to do the song justice and I put everything I could into that, but I couldn’t have done it without Arthur.” He smiled across at his partner who replied with one of those rare wide smiles that seemed to stop his heart for a moment. 

“That was all you, Merlin. The dance is only as good as the people dancing it and as the scores show, you truly did an incredible job, especially for someone that had never danced before, never acted, never done any kind of sport unlike any of the rest.”

“Are you calling me lazy?” Despite his insulted tone, Merlin was grinning. He knew Arthur couldn’t just give a straight compliment, it wasn’t in his nature, but he saw if for precisely what it was and he couldn’t have been any happier.

“Far from it,” Arthur replied. “You’re odd and a magician, but you’re anything but lazy. Your mum will be proud of you.”

“I’m sure she will,” Aithusa agreed.

***** ***** *****

Although Arthur was certain they wouldn’t be going home that week, he was still glad when their names were called out first as being safe from the Dance Off. Sophia and Daegal, and Elena and Will were in the bottom two that week. It was no surprise when it was Sophia the judges elected to save and Elena that would be going home. Arthur knew Merlin would miss the mad pair but he had no doubt they would stay in touch.

For the first time ever he felt almost tempted to invite Merlin back for a celebratory drink once all the filming was done. It was late though, and Merlin looked drained, so he set the thought aside and once again tried to reinforce his own rules. Yes, he could try to be friends with Merlin, but late night drinks after a whirlwind of an evening such as they had just had was not conducive to that. He still felt a pang of regret as they went their separate ways until Monday.


	6. Week Five – Essetir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a week behind now. A combination of a migraine and a bout of depression rather stole away last weekend in terms of writing opportunities. I'm going to try and catch up during the week so I can try to stay on track with this series of Strictly as it airs.

**Training, Week Five – Essetir.**

Merlin was still buzzing after the success of the previous week when he got into the training room on Monday. He was a little nervous about the Argentine Tango but he was going to give it his all.

The second reason for his excitement was that now they had made it to the half way point the show would relocate to Essetir’s Tower Ballroom. He had grown up in a small village, Ealdor, just a few miles down the coast. His mother had moved there before he was born to be closer for the big dance competitions that were often held there. They hadn’t been to the Ballroom since the accident, but he knew his mother longed to go again. Merlin wistfully thought back to his few hazy memories of her twirling around the grand space in all her finery. He had a plan that might allow him to spend a little more time with his mum and to get her to the filming of the show, so he immediately made his way over to the woman in charge of their filming to discuss the possibility.

Arthur wandered in a few minutes later, two keep-cups clutched in his gloved hands. Merlin bit back a smirk. It really wasn’t that cold out and surely no one needed _two_ cups of coffee just to start the day. His amusement quickly shifted into something else entirely when Arthur walked right up to him and offered one of the cups. 

“I got you a tea from that cafe you keep going on about,” Arthur said by way of explanation when Merlin failed to take the offered cup.

Merlin hesitated, then took the tea with a grateful, if slightly confused, smile. 

“Thanks,” he said and took a sip. “Mmmm…” Merlin sighed with pleasure and closed his eyes as the rough sweetness of berries, rosehips, apple, and hibiscus warmed him. 

When he opened his eyes again he was even more confused to find Arthur looking like he was blushing. 

“I… er…” Arthur cleared his throat and set about removing his gloves, looking anywhere but at Merlin. “I thought I ought to give the place a try since you never stop singing their praises. Then I thought that I probably ought to get you a drink too or I’d never hear the end of it.”

Merlin tilted his head to one side, considering the normally confident man before him. He didn’t think he’d gone on about Huffkins _that_ often. 

“Well, thanks again. This is my favourite tea, and it’s free of that pesky caffeine, so you picked well.” 

Merlin took another sip of tea, now painfully aware that despite their appearance of busyness all eyes and ears of the film crew were now on them. As curious as he was about this sudden inexplicable display of emotion from Arthur he would rather not be the subject of any unfounded rumours, so he quickly changed the topic. 

“I was just talking to Annis about potentially relocating up to Essetir early in the week. What do you think?”

Arthur frowned, “that’s fine with me, but why? You know we won’t get to practice in the Tower Ballroom before Friday afternoon?”

Merlin nodded, “I know that, but my mum lives nearby. I thought I could stay with her, bring her along to a practice, help her get to the show on Saturday. I don’t think I’d need to get her anything for Christmas if I could get her to the Tower Ballroom show.”

“There is a location that can be used for training. We’ve got the standing agreement to use it for the week. Elyan and Nimueh have the main room booked for the early mornings but there is a second room you can use then, and we can do our training filming in the main space in the afternoons when Elyan is working,” Annis said.

“Alright, so we relocate to Essetir then. When can you set up accommodation for me?” Arthur was back to being all about practicalities and schedules again. Merlin felt a pang of disappointment that he was loathe to examine. He could set such thoughts aside to deal with another day.

***** ***** *****

Arthur called for a break after the third time that Merlin completely lost track of where he was in the routine. It was only Wednesday, but also it was _already Wednesday_. They would have to put in some serious extra time if Merlin was going to really nail the choreography before the show. Although Arthur knew it was his own fault he couldn’t bring himself to regret his choices. He had never thrown such a complex routine at someone that had been dancing for less than two months but he knew Merlin could do it, so he had taken the risk.

The camera crew were still with them, which confused him. Normally they called it a day about half an hour earlier. He was itching to have some time alone with Merlin so he could talk to him, get him to trust that they would get there, stop him panicking. When the door to the training room opened and a short woman with long, wavy brown hair cautiously peered into the room he finally knew why. Arthur nudged an oblivious Merlin and nodded to the door. The instant Merlin saw their visitor he launched himself across the room and Arthur’s assumption was confirmed.

“Mum!” 

Merlin was hugging their visitor now. He had all of his trademark energy and enthusiasm, but there was also a gentleness there that spoke to the care he devoted to his mother. Arthur felt awkward suddenly, as though he were surplus to requirement. He knew nothing about what it was like to have such a close bond with family. He didn’t even know what it was to have a mother. When Merlin hooked his arm through his mother’s and began leading her over, Arthur set his face into his best polite smile and tried not to panic. He had done this ‘meet the celebrity’s family’ routine enough times before, so why did it feel so much more significant this time?

“Arthur, this is my mum, Hunith,” Merlin introduced them. 

Hunith took Arthur’s offered hand in a handshake. She felt worryingly frail in his strong grip. Arthur began to worry that perhaps a hug, or a kiss on the cheek, or… anything else really would have been less insulting, strange, and formal than a handshake. His polite smile grew strained as the crew carried on relentlessly with their filming.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hunith. Merlin has told me so much about you.”

Hunith gave him a small smile, so gentle in comparison to Merlin’s exuberance, “a pleasure to meet you too, Arthur. Thank you for taking such good care of my boy. You’ll have to come by one day while you’re in the area and I’ll make us all a cake.”

“Mum!” Merlin rolled his eyes. “Arthur’s a professional dancer; he can’t have cake.”

“Of course he can!” Hunith said and gently tapped at her son’s arm.

“Are you saying I’m overweight, _Mer_ lin?” 

Merlin’s face grew red. “Of course not. I just-”

“First you call me _lazy_ , now this?” Arthur teased.

“Merlin,” Hunith admonished, “what have I told you about treating people with respect?”

“I thought that only applied to boyfriends,” Merlin grumbled.

“That tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, young man,” Hunith said with a sigh.

Arthur could imagine plenty of ways Merlin’s tongue could get him in trouble. Sadly, as usual, this was not the moment for such thoughts. Arthur’s mind snapped back to the camera crew focussed on them. This was _really_ not the moment for such conversations.

“Would you like to see the routine, Hunith?” Arthur interjected before Merlin could say anything to make things worse.

“Oh, yes please. That would be wonderful.” 

Hunith’s smile at Merlin as he led her over to a bench at the side of the room was so radiant. For one brief moment Arthur let himself imagine what it might feel like to have someone love him that simply, to look at him with such pure and unadulterated affection, and then he shut away those thoughts again for another day.

***** ***** *****

Merlin finally felt like he was beginning to grasp the last section of the choreography. They only had a day to go, he was exhausted from all the extra hours they were putting in at the studio, and now he was also practising at home with his Mum’s help on top of that. He hoped that it all paid off.

The Argentine Tango felt so much harder than anything else they had done so far. Arthur kept reassuring him that it was down to him raising the bar on the level of steps in the routine. Any time Merlin thought about Arthur’s fixed expression and abrupt comments whenever he messed up he felt his stomach turn. He really didn’t want to disappoint Arthur by forgetting the routine on live TV or completely making a mess of the steps. It was all made even harder by the lifts and the way the lead shifted so fluidly between them throughout the routine.

“Your hand placement is so much better today.”

Arthur’s comment startled Merlin out of the daydream he had drifted into. He looked up to find Arthur’s brow creased.

“I’d say ‘thank you’ but you’re scowling at me.”

“Oh, sorry,” Arthur shrugged, his expression brightening, “I was just thinking how I’d not mentioned your hands yet. I realised last night that we never got around to working on them. How did you know what you needed to do?”

“Mum pointed it out. She helped me a bit when I got back last night.” Merlin scuffed his feet and looked at the floor, not sure why he was shy to admit the reason.

“Well,” Arthur looked a little surprised, “that’s great. I didn’t realise she was so knowledgable.”

Merlin considered Arthur before answering. His mum had never been secretive about her past before the accident that had killed her husband but she had found it hard to see friends and rivals alike that she had once danced with carry on while she was left working menial jobs to try and support herself and her son and so she had withdrawn from that world entirely. Merlin knew it was still something she didn’t like people to draw attention to. Hunith never wanted to be the object of anyone’s pity. When Camelot Come Dancing had begun it had offered her a small window back into something that had once brought her joy. He knew she thought very highly of Arthur and she was proud he was Merlin’s partner, and he also knew that Arthur was anything but a gossip, so he decided to open up a bit more.

“I told you before how she was a dancer? She doesn’t talk about it much but... she was really good, like professional level.”

Arthur looked even more surprised at that. “Oh, wow.”

“She’s been really ill this past year and her back was never the same after the accident. My finally learning to dance after all these years means a lot to her.”

Arthur looked uncomfortable, unsure what to say, ever ill at ease with emotions. Merlin gave him a smile and decided to rescue him, well, in one sense -

“Mum baked that cake she threatened you with. She’s invited you round for tea after we finish up today. You don’t have to come – I know you keep things strictly professional usually – but it would make her day if you could spare half an hour.” 

Arthur gave a shy sort of a smile, “of course.”

***** ***** *****

Arthur looked around the small cottage with interest. This was the home that Merlin had grown up in and Arthur could feel his presence in the very fabric of the place. There was a whole wall devoted to photographs. It all felt so warm and welcoming. The cottage was a fraction of the size of Arthur’s own family house, but if offered the option he would choose this cosy home over the dizzying rotation of coldness and drama of his own upbringing any day.

He was leaning in for a closer look at a rather faded image of Merlin with his parents when he noticed the one small image to its left of a group of three dancers. Arthur felt like the air had been stolen from his lungs – _surely it couldn’t be?_ \- he turned around abruptly. Hunith was busy laying out a tea service as though she had royalty visiting rather than simply a dancer from a TV show. Merlin had gone upstairs to get changed. 

Arthur cleared his throat and Hunith looked up at him with a smile which faded when she saw Arthur’s expression.

“Are you alright, dear? You look rather pale. Do you need to sit down? Shall I fetch you some water? Or-”

“This photograph…” Arthur interrupted her, but then couldn’t find the words.

Hunith’s brow creased in confusion, then when her gaze caught upon the frame that Arthur’s fingertips rested lightly upon she looked sad.

“Ah…”

“Merlin mentioned you were a professional dancer. Do you… I hope you don’t mind my asking… Do you recall the other people in this photograph?”

Hunith walked over, her limp slightly more pronounced now than it had been the day before, and she looked at the photograph as if only seeing it for the first time. She reached out and removed it from the wall, smiling sadly at the people in the image, then moved closer next to Arthur.

“Yes, I remember them all. I have so many photos of my dancing days, but they’re all in the loft except for this one. This was taken at the ballroom finals a few years before I had Merlin.” Hunith pointed to the young woman to the left of the trio, “that’s me there. In the middle is Mary, she quit the year after to start a family, works in a pub now. Then to the right is Ygraine. We were good friends, but then she met someone, and we lost touch. I sometimes think of trying to look her up. It would be nice to see her again after all these years.”

“She died,” Arthur said. 

Hunith looked up at him in shock. 

“Oh!”

Arthur felt a pang of guilt. He hadn’t meant to speak aloud. He had never meant to break news like that so abruptly.

“I’m sorry I was so blunt. It’s just the photograph… well, I’ve only ever seen one other of her. Ygraine de Bois was my mother. She died in childbirth. I’m sorry-” Arthur’s words caught in his throat.

“No, no don’t apologise dear. I should never… I just wish I’d known at the time. To think I’ve watched you dancing all these years and I never knew.”

Hunith reached out with her free hand and grasped Arthur’s with surprising firmness. She led him over to the table and set about getting him tea and a slice of cake. Merlin reappeared at that point and began complaining loudly about his mother treating Arthur like a king which defused the tension perfectly. 

Arthur spent the next couple of hours having the most pleasant evening he had had in a very long time. They drank tea and ate more cake than was really advisable, or he did at least, Merlin had one slice then very pointedly kept a running commentary on how much Arthur had eaten punctuated only by Hunith admonishing him for being so rude to their special guest. Arthur eventually had to excuse himself to get back to his hotel for the night, although he was fairly certain that if Hunith had had her way he would have stayed over. She kept offering him Merlin’s bed, insistent Merlin himself would be fine on the sofa or the floor. If it hadn’t been for the competition Arthur thought he might just have taken her up on the offer, but the last thing he needed was a partner with a cricked neck from sleeping on a sofa that was far too short for him.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Five - Essetir.**

Merlin wasn’t sure whether to be stressed at opening the show, or relieved to get their dance out of the way before he had too much time to worry more. Opening Camelot Come Dancing was a big responsibility. He knew he needed to make his performance especially memorable, and preferably for all the right reasons, when going first.

While the VT of their week in training played Merlin rocked nervously on the spot. The sight of his mother on the big screens they had up for the studio audience brought a smile to his face which he had to then force down. He wasn’t meant to look stressed, but equally he wasn’t meant to be smiling for this routine. Honestly he was quite grateful for that. The intensity of the dance meant that it wouldn’t matter if his face was serious from trying to recall all the steps and style notes he had learned so long as he could keep in the character.

The audience cheered as the VT ended, the continuity announcer introduced their dance, and the first notes of their music started up. Merlin took a deep breath and moved into hold. Arthur’s arms were firm around him. The hardest part of the routine was playing the role of being in conflict with Arthur. They teased at one another, bit with harmless insults, but beneath that Merlin knew there was a mutual trust and compatibility they had built on over their time together. He let his expression set, harder than it naturally wanted to be, twist into something unfamiliar and painful.

The dance itself went fairly well he hoped. He didn’t forget the routine, he didn’t fail any of the lifts, and he kept up with the fast pace. Merlin was fairly sure his technique had slipped once or twice, but he just moved on and pushed through to the end of the routine. 

As they finished the final, complex series of spins, kicks, and pulled into a forward-facing hold with their arms around one another’s backs, Merlin’s heart was racing. All around him in the grandeur of the Tower Ballroom people were cheering. It was glorious and exciting. It was what he had always wanted. 

Yet he felt like crying. 

He wanted to cry for all of his childhood hopes and dreams this day had once represented and for all that had been lost to him, the many possibilities long since fallen by the wayside. 

His vision blurred for a moment, and then Arthur was pulling him into his arms. Merlin’s heart beat harder than ever. He caught his breath, more confused than ever. Arthur had chosen to hold him. The ever reticent and removed Arthur Pendragon was hugging him. Not some carried away in the moment performance, no, this was something far more tender.

“Well done, Merlin,” Arthur murmured in his ear, then he led Merlin over to their marks for the judges comments.

Helen congratulated them as usual, and Merlin did his best to put on a brighter expression. 

“That was impressive, Merlin,” Gwen beamed at them, “that was a really advanced routine. You’ve set the bar very high for the other dancers. I loved the atmosphere you created, the intensity between your characters. I look forward to seeing what you’re going to bring us next week.”

“Wow!” Gwaine said when he was prompted for his opinions. “There was a hell of a lot of pressure on you in that dance mate and you really pulled it off!”

Helen next looked to Kilgharrah, whose expression was serious, “I can’t deny there were things you needed to work on some more, but I am truly amazed that you did as well as that with such a difficult routine. The passing, swivelling, the detail in those steps. The lifts could have been cleaner, more precise, but they were done well and with conviction. Keep working on your technique and your destiny will be great.”

Uther for once was almost smiling. Merlin felt a sense of dread, but he fixed his smile even more firmly. 

“Uther, be nice,” Helen said with a wink. It did not make Merlin feel any less wary.

“Well now that was some truly showstopping choreography. I can only congratulate you, Arthur on taking a risk on such a daring routine for a complete amateur. I was prepared to be disappointed but it really drew me in. The technique was lacking obviously, but otherwise I am delighted.”

That was probably the best he could have hoped for from Uther this week. Beside him, Arthur was subtly glaring at his father. Merlin was confused why – he had just received an impressive compliment on his choreography after all.

***** ***** *****

**The Results Show, Week Five - Essetir.**

Merlin held his breath as one by one the couples were called safe or in the dance off. Mordred and Kara were the first named in the dance off. With each couple called out Merlin felt himself grow tenser and tenser until only him and Arthur, and Isolde and Tristan were left. When Helen called out their names as safe, leaving Isolde and Tristan in the dance off, it didn’t feel real. He had convinced himself that despite their decent score that they would be in the dance off again. Merlin made his way to the filming of their reactions to getting through to the next week in a daze, barely registering anything that was happening until Aithusa was talking happily at him.

“I know you always want to make your mother proud, and here she is in the audience tonight,” Aithusa said and the screen showed a close up of his mum waving at him. She was smiling widely and there were tears in her eyes. 

Merlin felt in that moment that whatever happened in the contest now, it had all been worth it. He blew a kiss to his mum, knowing she would see it on the screen. 

Arthur also gave her a wave, “thanks for the cake Mrs Emrys! Despite Merlin’s dire predictions I think it’s your expertise did the trick to get us through that routine.”

Hunith laughed and then the screen cut back to the usual background. Merlin gave his partner a curious look. There was so much warmth in his words. Such a display was completely out of character. Arthur was surprising him more and more this week.

***** ***** *****

Once they were finished with their filming for the evening Merlin found his mother among the crowd of people waiting for friends and relatives. Hunith launched herself at Merlin the moment she spotted the pair of them heading her way. After a long moment, Hunith stepped away from her son and then surprised Arthur by also enfolding him in a hug. His breath caught in his throat. There was something wholly unfamiliar and yet utterly right in that embrace. It felt like he had found his family, for all that they were not of his blood and he’d only known them a very short while. He stood unresponsive for a moment, and then tentatively wrapped his arms around the short woman, returning the affection.

“Thank you,” Hunith said.

“What for?”

Hunith simply gave him an enigmatic smile as she released him from the hug. She held onto his arms tightly for a moment longer, then finally let go. Hunith then reached into her coat pocket and removed an envelope which she pressed into Arthur’s hands.

“This is for you. I’m sorry I didn’t have more.”

“What-” Arthur began to ask but Hunith cut him off.

“Open it later.”

Then she was gone as Merlin took her home. 

The envelope, for all that it was small, weighed heavily in his pocket as Arthur finished up the last post show debriefing and meetings. He ran his fingers over it as he made his way back to his hotel room. When he was finally alone though he hesitated to open it. What could possibly be inside? A thank you card? A letter? Surely not money? No, it had to be something else – but what? Arthur finally got up his courage to open it once he had showered and was ready for bed. He opened the sealed white envelope and tipped out the contents. 

A handful of photographs now lay scattered across the desk in his room. Each one showed Ygraine somewhere in the image, she wasn’t always the focus, sometimes she was only a figure dancing in the background, but she was always there and recognisable. He picked up the closest one that showed Hunith and Ygraine laughing together backstage at a contest. Arthur felt tears fill his eyes. Hunith must have got down the photographs that she had kept hidden away all these years and gone through them all to find these for him. 

Arthur thought back to his resolution to be friends with Merlin and nothing more. He really couldn’t break it, yet with every day he spent with Merlin, every new and surprising thing he learned about him, his resolve weakened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks. I have have watched [this tango](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOJ0m9G5PqI) an obscene amount of times this week. I can totally see this working with an Arthur/Merlin dynamic and was imagining a version of that for their routine this week. Oh and [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDxHxxsOB6s) is just beautiful ♥


	7. Week 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still a week behind :)  
> This week, and this chapter rather got away from me.

**Training, Week Six,**

“So, we’ve got the Couple’s Choice dance this week.”

Merlin looked up from his tea to find Arthur watching him intently. 

“Yes… and?”

Arthur looked down and spun the remaining coffee in his cup. For a moment Merlin thought he wasn’t going to elaborate. 

“They approved your preferred song request, so we’re dancing to A Thousand years,” Arthur said eventually.

Merlin’s heart skipped a beat. He had been certain that the producers would say no and ask them to pick something else. He had no reasoning as to why, but he had been so sure that he had been waiting for Arthur to announce what alternative they had approved. Without a thought to the hot liquids they were both holding, Merlin let out a cry of joy and flung his arms around Arthur’s neck.

“MERLIN!”

He quickly jumped back at Arthur’s yell. Arthur held out the crumpled remains of the takeaway cup he had been holding. There was coffee slowly seeping down both their fronts. Thankfully it had cooled enough so as not to be scalding. Merlin’s tea had mostly been strewn across the floor behind Arthur.

“Agh! Sorry! I got a bit… carried away.” 

Stepping close to Arthur once again, Merlin pulled off his scarf and began ineffectually dabbing at the coffee stain.

“Merlin…” Arthur tried to bat his hands away, “Merlin, stop.”

He carried on with his pointless mission regardless, “but I’ve completely ruined your shirt!”

“Merlin!” 

Arthur tossed the now empty cup aside and grasped Merlin by the wrists. Merlin looked up into those painfully bright blue eyes. Arthur was slightly red in the face and his expression was pinched. Clearly he was really angry, Merlin thought.

“Sorry…” Merlin said again, his voice breaking slightly with embarrassment.

“It’s… fine,” Arthur sighed. “This was just an old shirt for practising in. Nothing special. No harm done. Are you alright?”

“Me?”

Arthur let go of Merlin’s wrists and gently took Merlin’s hands, turning them over and examining them. 

“Yes, you. My coffee was almost cold anyway, but your tea was hot, did you get any on you?”

“No, it’s fine. It landed all over the floor.”

Arthur looked over his shoulder, took in the small flood, and sighed dramatically.

Arthur gave his hands a final check and then let them go. Merlin found himself rubbing his palms together, chasing the odd tingling feeling that had set in as Arthur held them. Arthur held his hands all the time when dancing, so why had this felt so different? His stomach felt fluttery, like it did when he was anxious, but warmer. Yes, he was embarrassed about his daft actions, but he wasn’t too concerned, so what was making him feel this way? 

“OK, let’s get cleaned up, then we can get on with putting this routine together,” Arthur said, oblivious to the complete meltdown Merlin was having in his mind, and marched off across the training room. When he pulled off his shirt, revealing a toned and muscular chest, Merlin came to the abrupt realisation of exactly what he was feeling.

Damn. Merlin’s mouth felt dry and he licked his lips nervously as he tried to get his reaction under control.

It was one thing to find Arthur Pendragon attractive when watching him on TV. It was another to have to then dance with said dance king. It was, however, a whole other situation to realise that an aesthetic appreciation of one’s dance partner had morphed into something much more. He had hoped that perhaps he could form some kind of friendship with Arthur, had been happy whenever he got a glimpse into the _real_ Arthur, but now he had to admit to himself he was feeling something far beyond friendship.

Merlin stifled a groan – he could _not_ have a crush on his dance partner, especially when that partner was as amazing as Arthur.

Still shirtless, Arthur turned back to Merlin and raised an eyebrow in query, “are you going to get changed? Or are you going to spend the rest of the morning just gawping.

Merlin felt the blush that spread across his face, “I wasn’t gawping!”

Arthur looked confused, and Merlin blushed even more as he realised it had probably been a joke and that now he might have given away his real train of thoughts. To cover his reaction, Merlin stomped off towards his own bag – and promptly slipped on the tea that was all over the floor. 

The next moments felt like they happened in slow motion. Merlin was falling. He was going to hit the floor. Then there were arms under him, a firm body against his back, breaking his fall. The next thing he knew he was in a tangle of limbs amidst a small puddle of tea, with a shirtless Arthur.

Fate was trying to kill him. He hadn’t hit his head, or broken a limb, but he was definitely going to have a heart attack.

“Are you alright?” He managed to say through his turmoil.

“Yes. Luckily for you I’ve had plenty of training in how to break a fall,” Arthur said, and he sighed again.

They awkwardly got up from the floor, dripping tea as well as coffee now.

“It’s a good thing I’ve got spare trousers as well,” Arthur grumbled.

Merlin couldn’t speak. He grabbed his own bag and fled the training room to go and change in the bathrooms before Arthur could take off his joggers. Merlin was fairly certain that seeing Arthur in only his underwear would be the final straw for his remaining sanity.

***** ***** *****

The rest of the day passed without incident. They were doing a Contemporary routine with sections of stlyised Waltz through it. The whole thing was supposed to reflect Merlin’s story, his personality, so Arthur was trying to get that to come through in the narrative of the dance. It meant his focus was firmly on Merlin as a person, which was wonderful and tantalising all at the same time.

He knew Merlin was not looking forward to the interviews and filming for his VT. Arthur understood his desire for privacy, and to avoid becoming a figure of pity. So far he had managed to avoid ever talking about his own mother despite his fame. There was no way to avoid the accident and the loss of his father being a part of the story, it was public knowledge after all and it would be expected for Merlin to talk about it, but Arthur was keen to keep the focus on who Merlin was now. An accident that had happened when he was only a child had set him on a path, but Merlin had made that journey by himself. 

Arthur wanted to show Merlin’s love for his family, the care he gave to those around him, his strength, his commitment, and the beauty of the hope that seemed to shine from him no matter what. He hoped that some of those qualities that he loved so much about Merlin would come through in his choreography.

As he was watching Merlin practice one of the sections he would be doing independently, a smile crept onto his usually stoic face. Then it hit him what he had just been thinking - _qualities that he loved_ \- and the smile slipped away. Oh no... He couldn’t really have _fallen in love_ with Merlin could he?!

Merlin stopped at the end of the part he had been going through and looked over at him.

“How am I looking?” Merlin asked. 

_‘Radiant. Beautiful. So bloody dangerous with those ridiculously sharp cheekbones, and those eyes I could get lost in, and those damned lips that just beg for kissing...’_ Arthur managed not to say out loud.

Merlin poked him in the ribs when he didn’t answer. “Hello? Arthur? Am I doing alright so far?” 

“Great,” Arthur forced his voice to work, “really good. Keep it up – I mean going – I mean…” Arthur took a breath and prayed that he wasn’t blushing. “Practice that section a couple more times and then we’ll work on the transition to the next part.”

***** ***** *****

“Mum asked me if she can have your phone number,” Merlin was trying, and failing, to sound nonchalant. His mum had sounded much the same when she had casually dropped that request into their phone-call the evening before.

“Oh?” Arthur looked everywhere but at Merlin, “sure, you can pass it on to her.”

“Why would she want your phone number?”

Arthur swigged his water and continued to avoid Merlin’s gaze.

“Er…”

“Arthur?”

“I sent her some flowers. Perhaps she wanted to thank me for them?”

“Why?”

“Well, I’m told that’s the courteous thing to do when you receive a gift,” Arthur said sarcastically.

“I meant why did you send her flowers? Don’t get me wrong, that was nice of you, but why?”

Arthur looked uncomfortable, but eventually he said, “she gave me some photos.”

“Photos?” Merlin frowned in confusion. Then he remembered his mum asking him to help get a box down from the loft. Her old dancing photos and memorabilia had been inside. “Why would Mum give you photos of when she used to dance.”

“They weren’t photos of her. Well, no, she was in some of them, but they were of… of my mother.”

“Your mother?” Merlin was all at sea in this conversation. “Mum knows your mother?”

“Apparently so,” Arthur sighed and took a seat. “She’s in the photograph on the wall of your house. It was a bit of a surprise to us both. I must have mentioned I had only ever seen one photo of her dancing so Hunith very kindly found any she had with my mother in and gave them to me after the show.”

Merlin sat down next to Arthur and instinctively took his hand. He hadn’t known Arthur that long, but he knew him well enough to realise that there were probably a whole heap of emotions he had tied up with receiving those images that he wasn’t going to be able to express. 

“That sounds like the kind of thing Mum would do,” Merlin squeezed Arthur’s hand reassuringly. 

Arthur looked up into his eyes and for a moment it felt like there was something between them. Merlin’s breath caught in his chest, his heart racing. There was an overwhelming temptation to close the space between them, press his lips to Arthur’s, pull his body close… but there was no way Arthur would want that, no way he would want Merlin of all people, so he hesitated. Arthur cleared his throat and then stood up, dragging Merlin along with him.

“Come on lazy, we need to get back to practice. We’ve only got the rest of today and tomorrow left.”

***** ***** *****

Arthur called a halt to their final training session of the week before the dress rehearsal at the studio the next day. He was feeling both nervous and confident this week. They were pretty contradictory feelings. He was nervous because the Couple’s Choice dances tended to go down either really well, or really badly. Something about it being so personal made the reactions to the dance all that more intense. He was confident that Merlin would do brilliantly in the routine, and that the judges should like it, but he couldn’t place any bets on the public vote.

Merlin seemed to have picked up on his nerves because he was fiddling with his bag and delaying leaving the training room. 

“I wonder why Mordred and Kara were in the bottom two last week,” Merlin suddenly said.

Arthur considered for a moment before replying, “well there are all the rumours about them.”

“What, that they’re dating?”

“Yes. The public tends to either love it or hate it when a dance couple gets together.”

“So you think they don’t like the idea of them being together?” Merlin was frowning. Arthur felt an urge to soothe the lines from his brow.

“Well, Kara has a bit of a reputation. Mordred is barely more than a kid really, so I have no doubt he’s an innocent in all this, but Kara-”

“-cheated on her boyfriend with her celebrity partner last year,” Merlin finished for him. “Ah. I see. I wonder what the effect of people knowing about Isolde and Tristan would’ve been then.”

“Isolde and Tristan are together?” Arthur couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice. How had he not known about that? How did Merlin know about it?

“Yeah, I think they’re going to be great together,” Merlin smiled and picked up his bag as if to leave but then he added, “you’ve never been a part any of those sorts of rumours though, have you?”

“No.” 

Arthur wanted to say how he always kept things professional, how he never even made friends with his partners, but that felt like a lie considering how things were going with Merlin.

Merlin smirked at him then, “but there is always the gossip about you and Morgana.”

“What?! No!” Arthur reacted before thinking. “She’s my sister. Ew. Besides, she’s very definitely gay.”

Merlin’s eyebrows vanished beneath his messy curls, “your sister?”

Arthur cursed under his breath, “that is a really BIG secret, Merlin. I shouldn’t have said that. Please can you keep it to yourself?”

“Of course,” Merlin looked serious in his reply, but then his cheeky smile returned. “So does that mean there’s something to the talk about Morgana and Morgause?”

“No way, they’re sisters,” Arthur yet again spoke before considering what he was saying. He cursed again when he realised his mistake. Merlin seemed to have this way of loosening his tongue and getting him to share all his best kept secrets.

Merlin, understandably, was looking seriously confused. 

“So… Morgause is your sister too?”

“No.”

“But-”

Arthur cut Merlin off before he could ask anything else, “they’re going to be closing up here soon. How about we head back to mine, have some dinner, and you can ask me all the questions that I know are burning you up now in private?”

Merlin looked almost like he was blushing. “I… well… but isn’t your flat the opposite side of the city to my place? It would be kinda late to try and get back after.”

“You can crash at mine,” the offer was out of his mouth before he realised that Merlin had probably actually been looking for a way out of socialising with him rather than angling for a place to stay. “If you wanted to. No obligation,” he added to try and make it sound more normal, and thus making it much weirder instead. _‘No obligation.’_ It was as though he never spoke with other humans sometimes.

“Thanks, that would be great,” Merlin agreed with a wide smile.

This was a terrible, terrible, horrible idea. How was he ever going to get any sleep with Merlin in the next room?

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Six.**

Merlin had not got as much sleep as he really ought to have had. Having dinner with Arthur had been wonderful and it had been topped off by getting the other man to finally relax around him and open up about his life. His family tree really was more of a thicket and seemed to be mostly populated by thorns rather than flowers. No wonder the poor man had issues.

They had talked late into the night, sharing stories and secrets until Arthur finally declared they had to go to bed. The spare room at his flat had been positively luxurious, the bed ridiculously soft, but Merlin had laid awake for what felt like hours painfully aware of Arthur sleeping in the next room. The longing to go to Arthur, to tell him one last secret, that of his feelings for him, consumed him even into sleep. His dreams had been filled with Arthur.

He stifled a yawn as they stood waiting for their call to go on. The only things keeping him going today were the adrenaline of the show and the excitement to perform the routine that he loved so much. 

Finally they were being called. Merlin smiled for the cameras and then pointedly tried to ignore the VT playing for the audience. The interviews for it hadn’t been so bad, and he suspected that was Arthur’s doing. They touched on the accident but most of it was focussed on how he had taught himself magic and rebuilt his father’s show from scratch. There was a bit about how he had wanted to dance after seeing his mother dancing when he was young but again the details of how his mother’s career had been cut short had been left out. 

In the end the hardest part had been being the centre of attention. That had not been something he had ever thought he would be uncomfortable with given his outgoing nature. During his time so far on Camelot Come Dancing he had learned that he was happiest performing as part of a partnership. Merlin looked across to Arthur as they took their marks for the beginning of the dance and felt his heart beat faster – he was going to miss this more than he could ever have imagined when it was all over.

The VT ended and their music began playing. Merlin took a deep breath and relaxed into the unfamiliarly loose posture of Contemporary dance. The routine began and he couldn’t have loved any dance more than this one. The fluidity of the movements, the way the beautiful music wrapped itself around and through the narrative, his body feeling like it belonged in that very moment. Exhaustion and fear was forgotten. Merlin was spinning in Arthur’s arms and the dance-floor was the only place he wanted to be right then. 

This was the first dance where he would be lifting Arthur as well as being lifted and he had been so worried about it all week but when the time came to do them the raw emotion pushed him onwards and they felt as natural as breathing. Merlin could recall times when he had fallen over his own feet simply walking but now as they twisted together, separated, came back into hold, spun round for a few steps of waltz and then out into a series of lifts he had never felt more at ease. It was like there was magic, _real_ magic, flowing in his veins.

When the final notes of the piece faded out, Merlin and Arthur pressed close together with heads resting on each other’s shoulder, the audience came to life. The cheering was deafening. Merlin looked up at the people all on their feet and applauding for them. The smile that broke on his face was wide and genuine. This would be one of those moments he would never forget. 

“Well done, Merlin,” Arthur lifted his head and whispered in his ear and for one moment Merlin thought his lips brushed over his cheek. 

Merlin turned to his partner and his smile grew even wider. Perhaps he had imagined that ghost of a kiss but he wasn’t imagining the sincerity of the warmth in Arthur’s lopsided smile. He wanted Arthur to always smile at him like that. Helen was calling them over for the judges’ comments but Merlin took a second to bask in the pure joy of the moment before finally breaking the spell by turning away from Arthur to cross the floor to join Helen. Arthur took his hand as they walked.

Helen was beaming at them once again and Merlin could tell that he hadn’t been alone in feeling the strength of emotion in the routine.

“Well, Merlin, I’ve said it before and I have no doubt I’ll say it again – Wow! That was spectacular. I can’t even begin to express how incredible that was to watch. You had two of our judges on their feet again so shall we see what they have to say?” Helen turned back to the judges’ bench. “Gwaine, let’s hear from you first.”

Gwaine, who had been among those giving the standing ovation grinned broadly at them. “Merlin, mate, that was sheer genius. I am in awe of the work you’ve put in to get to this point from where you were at the start of the competition. Honestly, that was so good I could kiss you!”

Merlin was seized by the energy of the moment and gave a cheeky wink at Gwaine, “any time.” 

The audience shrieked and laughed at the blatant flirting. Gwaine blew him a kiss which only made things worse. Arthur’s hand grew strangely tight around his and Merlin blushed as he realised what he had just said on live television.

Helen laughed, “OK guys, save it for later. Gwen, you looked like you were crying at one point during that routine, what did you think?”

Gwen did indeed look a little tearful. “Oh gosh, that was just… It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I did feel a bit like crying, but only with happiness because I could just _feel_ the depth of the sentiment you put into that. Well done.”

“Uther, dare I ask?” Helen smiled at the ever severe looking figure on the end of the judges’ bench.

“Well as you know my background is in performance dance, for the stage, rather than competitive and that routine…” Uther sighed and Merlin tensed up. “I’d pay to see that on stage any day. Fab-u-lous!”

The audience erupted in applause and cheering once more. Uther gave a pained sort of smile and nodded at Merlin in what he could only assume was an approving way.

“Wow, high praise indeed from our resident queen,” Helen grinned at Uther who only scowled half-heartedly in reply. “Kilgharrah, over to you.”

“That was pure magic. I know we make jokes about you and magic, Merlin, but that was honestly spectacular. I have no doubt I’ll be seeing you back next week for the quarter finals.”

Merlin and Arthur made their way off the dance-floor to yet more cheering. When the judges gave them straight 10’s for the first perfect score of the series Arthur swept Merlin off his feet in the most exuberant hug and Merlin was certain that it would take a lot to top that evening in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently this is a thing I do for this fic now, it wasn’t the plan but every week I’m watching videos for inspiration, and folks [This Dance is just incredible!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBISmPiOtDU) I’m in love. Evidently this is not the narrative of Merlin and Arthur’s dance (although I could go for that ending XD ) but the styling, the steps, the lifts – I can see all of that working so well in this routine. Anyways. I miss dancing so much.
> 
> Musicals week this/next week. Next chapter anyway. Any suggestions for good songs from musicals that would fit this pair? They're doing a Paso Doble so it should be good and intense again.


	8. Week 7 – Quarter Finals & Musicals Week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How committed am I to this AU? Well, I spent over four hours researching the Paso Doble, searching for appropriate music, learning about the history of Strictly Come Dancing and the franchise it spawned, and watching endless YouTube videos for inspiration. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm still a week behind as you can see but I really need to finish this next week before Christmas hits and in time with the actual Strictly final, so I'm going to aim for a double hit of the last two chapters next weekend. Aim. No promises I'll hit that target though!

**Training, Week Seven – Quarter Finals & Musicals Week.**

Merlin felt strangely nervous about going back into the training room on Monday. He knew there was no way he was going to top the previous weekend’s performance. Even if by some miracle he did pull off another perfect score he was never going to feel as connected with a dance as he had then. Plus the Paso Doble wasn’t exactly the most natural dance for his nature. Leon and Mithian, who were among the favourites to win, had ended up in the bottom two the week before with the Paso Doble. They had survived and it had been Sophia and Daegal who had left that time but it didn’t help him feel any more at ease. Still, he was going to give it his best shot. He couldn’t quite believe he had made it as far as the quarter finals. Even if they crashed and burned this week he could feel proud to have made it this far.

“Merlin! Are you even listening to me?” Arthur snapped and Merlin jumped. He had not been listening and Arthur did not look impressed.

Yes, there were the nerves about being in the quarters and doing the Paso Doble, but then there was also the whole Arthur issue. Merlin had felt nervous about being alone with Arthur after their night of confessions and then that almost-maybe-but-not-quite kiss after they had finished their dance. He had thought the whole idea of Arthur ever reciprocating the very definite attraction he felt growing day by day was just ludicrous but after that he hadn’t been so sure. There was something there, he was certain of that, but what exactly it was eluded him. 

Sunday had been a day of silence, no word from Arthur, which was normal but Merlin had hoped after the Friday night he might at least call or message. Monday morning he had hoped they might get to talk and even if Merlin wasn’t brave enough to confront the issue head on he hoped he could at least drop a few hints and see what happened. Things had, however, not gone according to plan. Arthur had arrived in the studio in a foul mood. He was snappy, irritable, and seemed determined to work Merlin into an early grave.

“This is the _quarter final_ Merlin!” Arthur said, his arms crossed over his gloriously firm chest. Merlin’s mind wandered off again. “You’ve got to up your game if you want to win this thing.”

That snapped him back into the moment. 

“Win?” 

“Yes, _Mer_ lin. That is the aim of a _competition_ after all,” Arthur spoke to him with the condescending tone people sometimes used with small children. Merlin had always hated it when people did that. He felt his temper flare in response.

“You think I came on this show to try and _win_?”

“What other reason-”

“To learn to dance you prat! Have you never considered that half the people that go on this show know they stand zero chance of winning it and just want to do it for the experience?”

“But you _have_ a chance,” Arthur said, looking utterly confused.

Without thinking about it Merlin stepped up close to Arthur and jabbed his finger against Arthur’s chest to emphasise his words as he spoke. “How was I supposed to know that, Arthur? I’m clumsy. I can fall over my own feet. How was I supposed to know I might be any good at dancing of all things?” 

“I… Er...” Arthur stuttered and looked uncomfortable, his eyes flickered to Merlin’s lips for the briefest of moments.

Merlin was suddenly aware of how close they stood. This wasn’t some choreographed part of a dance, this was Arthur and Merlin, arguing over… over… Merlin wasn’t even really sure what. He drew a shuddering breath and felt the tension between them grow. Had he misread that look? What was Arthur thinking? Should he risk it and kiss him?

The studio door clattered loudly announcing the arrival of the camera crew for the day’s filming. Arthur took a hasty step back and the distance between them suddenly felt much further than it truly was. Merlin longed to close the gap again, fix whatever it was that had come between them. Arthur was scowling again and that put him back in a bad mood so he frowned in reply.

“Getting into character, boys?” Annis said with a raised eyebrow. 

Arthur shot her a dark look. Merlin had a bad feeling about how the rest of the week was going to go if they didn’t get to the bottom of Arthur’s personality transplant soon.

***** ***** *****

The instant the door closed on the camera crew, Merlin stopped the dance and stood before Arthur. He looked like he was braced for a fist fight, which was a hilarious idea because Merlin wouldn’t stand a chance in a physical altercation. If looks could kill though…

“What is your problem today?” Merlin’s lips were pressed tightly together in a show of defiance, and by the gods if that didn’t make him look even hotter than usual. Arthur itched to kiss that scowl into submission.

“I already told you. It’s the quarter final. If we want to make it further then I need to push you and you need to work for it.”

A nerve twitched in the corner of Merlin’s eye. “That’s not what I asked. You always make sure I work harder than I know I can. Why are you in a bad mood? I thought…” Merlin’s words trailed off and he sighed.

Arthur’s heart beat faster. Why did Merlin look so sad all of a sudden? “You thought what?” He asked, gentler than he had spoken to the other man all day.

“I thought we were friends. After Friday I thought we were friends but today you seem so angry at me and I don’t know why,” Merlin said quietly.

Arthur opened his mouth once, twice, willing himself to say something sensible that would end the whole sorry subject. What actually came out when he finally stopped gawping like a fish was less than helpful. 

“Why would you risk everything you’ve worked so hard for, just for _Gwaine_?”

“Risk… for Gwaine...?” Merlin echoed his words.

“I mean… it’s not any of my business of course, but if the papers-”

Merlin cut off his rambling, “you mean you think there’s something between me and Gwaine?!”

“Well, isn’t there?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“What on earth made you think there was?” Merlin demanded, and now he looked angry again.

Arthur shuffled awkwardly and stared down at his feet. “On Saturday, when you said-”

“When I flirted right back at the biggest flirt in Avalon?” Merlin asked and Arthur nodded in response. He was beginning to feel embarrassed by his reaction. “That’s all it was. Harmless flirting of the kind the other celebrities get away with all of the time. You really think I’d get into a relationship with a _judge_ while the show was running?”

“Well you are an idiot,” Arthur grumbled.

“Gee, thanks, I’m so glad to hear you have such faith in me. I thought we had got to know one another fairly well. I thought we trusted one another, that we were friends, evidently I was wrong.” 

Merlin looked hurt and Arthur wanted to fix it but he had no idea what to say. He had no idea how they had gotten this tangled up despite his best intentions to keep his distance.

“So you don’t fancy him then?” He couldn’t help himself asking.

“As you said, it’s none of your business. Are we done for the day?”

“We should-”

“Great. I’ll see you in the morning then.” 

Merlin stomped out the door, stopping only to swipe up he bag, leaving Arthur alone, lonely, and so very confused.

***** ***** *****

Merlin was still irritable the next day. He wanted to get back to the studio and try to fix things with Arthur, but he also didn’t want to get into another pointless argument. Thankfully Arthur had a series of other appointments that morning so he was free until midday. Free from Arthur that is. He had other plans which were the only thing taking the edge off his bad mood.

Freya had surprised him after the show on Saturday by asking if he wanted to meet up sometime so they had arranged to have brunch that morning. Despite it being the trendy thing to do, and having lived in the city for several years now, Merlin have never gone out for brunch. He wasn’t even entirely sure what it entailed. Surely it was just a late breakfast? But why would people be so excited to have a late breakfast in company of all things?

He arrived at the cafe they were meeting at several minutes late and was pleased to find Freya hadn’t arrived yet either. She turned up just a minute later, greeting him with a hug and an apology for making him wait. Freya was just too sweet and he hated to see her worried so he admitted he’d only just arrived himself and they laughed about their shared lack of punctuality as they made their way inside and to a private booth. 

Arthur would never be late, Merlin was sure of it, and he would definitely never be nice about Merlin being late. Merlin cursed his brain for now seeming to only have one train of thought: Arthur Pendragon.

Freya ordered the bottomless brunch for the pair of them as soon as they were seated. Merlin didn’t argue despite his lack of appetite because Freya had always looked painfully thin to him. He was happy to see her indulging a little. Camelot Come Dancing had brought her out of her shell a lot but she was still so nervous. 

“This place is usually booked up weeks in advance but my aunt knows the owner so she pulled a few strings to get us in.”

Merlin smiled at the glee on Freya’s face, “I take it you like it here then?”

“Oh yes, they do the _best_ strawberry waffles. Oh and their scrambled eggs are to die for!”

“I’ll make sure to order them then.” 

Freya’s smile became sly, “and then there’s the bottomless cocktails too.”

“Cocktails? At this time in the morning?!” Merlin gaped at the normally shy girl before him.

“Mhmm. Don’t tell me you’re going to to leave me drinking alone?” Freya said.

“We have training later.”

Freya reached out and grasped his hand, “come on, Merlin, pleeeaaase!”

“Fine. One drink,” Merlin agreed. What could be the harm of one drink with food?

Several drinks and three plates of food later Merlin and Freya were beyond full and definitely merry. 

“So, Arthur?” Freya nudged Merlin’s shoulder and giggled. Sometime during their meal they had shifted to sit on the same side of the booth.

“Hmm?” Merlin was feeling pleasantly hazy, which was a big improvement on his bad mood of earlier.

“Are you two…” Freya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“What?”

“You know! Are you… more than dance partners?” Freya was laughing again but something in her eyes was sad.

“No,” Merlin scoffed, “of course not. Arthur is the king of cool and professional. Besides, he’s far too lordly and aloof for me.” 

“Oh.”

“Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Freya replied, looking down and avoiding Merlin’s gaze. She fiddled with her napkin and took a long drink of her latest cocktail. “People say him and Morgana are a thing.” She tried to sound casual but again her eyes revealed the lie.

“Well, people are wrong,” Merlin said. 

Freya looked up at him abruptly, “really?”

Merlin narrowed his eyes and considered Freya. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

“You fancy her don’t you!” Merlin said and he broke into a wide grin.

“No!”

“So you don’t think she’s devastatingly beautiful then?” Merlin bumped his shoulder against Freya’s as she had done just before. 

“No. I mean, yes. I mean… she is beautiful, obviously, but she really does care so much more than people realise. She’s kind and caring as much as she is fierce.”

“Sounds like you loooove her,” Merlin teased.

“I…” Freya blushed and hid her face in her hands.

“You do!” Merlin exclaimed and Freya sunk lower into the seat of the booth. “Oh my gods!”

Freya peered out through her fingers. “I haven’t got a chance have I?”

Merlin sobered at the resignation he could hear in her voice.

“Of course you do. Anyone would be lucky to have the love of someone as genuinely lovely as you.”

“But Arthur-”

“Is honestly not a problem, I promise you,” he assured Freya. Merlin would not betray Arthur’s confidence that Morgana was his sister, but he could at least make it clear there was no romance there.

“What should I do?”

“Tell her.”

“Just tell her?” Freya looked at him sceptically.

“Yes.”

Freya snorted and sat up straighter once more, “I’ll take your advice when you do.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Merlin said, and downed the last of his cocktail, resolutely ignoring his new friend’s all too knowing gaze.

***** ***** *****

Arthur crossed his arms and sighed as Merlin repeated the move for the fifth time. They had only been rehearsing for twenty minutes yet somehow, his partner was getting worse rather than better. He had resolved to apologise for the day before but then Merlin had turned up, late, and acting even more odd than usual.

“Is this acceptable for you _Sire_?” Merlin said with a mocking bow, and promptly fell over his own feet, collapsing to the floor in a giggling heap of limbs.

Arthur stared at his partner, “are you drunk?”

Merlin licked his lips and tried to hide a smile, “noooo…”

“You are!”

Merlin laid back on the floor of the studio and smiled lazily up at the ceiling, “as if your most devoted servant would ever dare spend the morning boozing at the tavern with a woman!”

“What?” Now Arthur really was confused.

“Oh don’t panic _my Lord_. I was just having brunch with Freya.”

“How do you end up drunk from brunch?!”

“Bottomless brunch comes with unlimited cocktails at The Rising Sun.” Merlin winked up at Arthur from where he was laid on the floor.

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Merlin really was going to be the death of him.

“OK. Let’s take a break so you can sober up a bit more then we have to get back to it. We’re going to be working late into the night at this rate.”

“Sure,” Merlin replied and didn’t move from his spot on the floor, “but only if I can crash at your again. The taxi fees across town are extortionate that late at night.”

Arthur gaped down at Merlin who now had his eyes closed and looked like he was going to sleep. “I thought you were mad at me?”

Merlin giggled and wafted an arm at him, “I got over it. You should too. No point wasting your precious energy being jealous of Gwaine.”

“I’m not jealous,” Arthur grumbled. Merlin just winked at him again in reply. Arthur turned on his heel and left the room in as dignified a manner as he was capable. 

Was Merlin flirting with him? Or was he just making a joke of it because of the Gwaine thing? Or did he really know Arthur was jealous? He felt the beginnings of a headache. He needed caffeine, fresh air, and a whole lot more willpower.

***** ***** *****

Arthur returned after their break looking awkward as usual. Merlin felt a whole lot more than awkward. He’d spent the past hour rapidly sobering up and regretting how blatant he had been. There was no way Arthur couldn’t know how painfully smitten he was now. He had invited himself to stay at Arthur’s, outright called him jealous of his flirting with Gwaine, and then winked at him. There really was no way that could be misread.

Arthur stood in the doorway for a moment and then stepped into the room, offering over a cup, “I got you a tea.”

Merlin avoided looking directly at Arthur. Gods this was going to be so uncomfortable when they were dancing.

“I actually just had a drink so I’m good.”

“Oh… Okay.” Merlin chanced a glance up at Arthur. He looked disappointed for some reason. Arthur dropped his arm for a moment, but then held it out again. “The cup is for you too.”

“That is generally how you transport liquids,” Merlin said, unable to repress his natural inclination to sarcasm.

“No, I mean…” Arthur sighed, “I mean the cup is for you. Don’t drink the tea if you don’t want it, but I got the keep-cup for you.”

“What?”

“I saw the design and – I don’t know – I thought you might like it.” 

Arthur shrugged and turned to set the cups aside. Merlin snatched the one that had been offered up and turned it about in his hands. Wrapped around the cup was an intricate celtic design in the form of a dragon. He loved it instantly.

“You don’t have to keep it if you don’t want to. Just give it to a friend or charity or whatever.”

Arthur reached out to take the cup back from him and Merlin quickly pulled it out of reach.

“No!” He blushed a little at how loudly he’d said that. Arthur got him one little gift and he became a teenager with a crush all over again. He looked down at the cup. How had Arthur known how much he loved dragons? He’d never said anything and he had avoided wearing any of the many dragon emblazoned clothes he owned. 

“Can we… start this week over do you think?” Arthur asked tentatively.

“I’m game if you are.”

“Great!” Arthur’s smile lit up his face. 

Merlin wished he wouldn’t smile like that. It did funny things to his heart. 

“So as it’s musicals week and we’re doing a dance from it, I presume you have actually seen Strictly Ballroom, right?” 

Despite this being the second day of training this was the first time they were discussing the basis for their Paso Doble. They evidently weren’t going to talk about Merlin’s earlier behaviour and he was fine with that.

“Only like a million times,” Merlin replied.

“Good. I know we’ve been focussed on the steps so far, but if we want to make this worthy of the source material we need to work on matching the energy that Fran and Scott have. I see you as Fran, obviously, what with you being the plain amateur and me being the handsome professional.”

“Hey!” Merlin protested. “Although now you mention it, you do suit Scott.” Arthur smirked and Merlin went in for the kill, “over confident, flashy, show off, stuck up-”

Arthur threw his towel at Merlin, cutting off his list. 

“Come on, we’ve lost enough time as it. Get to work on the first section of the routine.”

***** ***** *****

The rest of the week went relatively well. The Paso Doble was still really difficult and Merlin wasn’t truly confident it would be their best dance, but it was wonderful fun. Whenever he let himself just think of the story rather than the steps he felt so much more at ease.

They spent every available minute working on the routine. Every night they made plans to stop at a respectable hour but then would carry on until it was so late that Arthur would end up driving Merlin back to stay at his place. Merlin was beginning to feel quite at home in Arthur’s flat. The one awkward thing was that they still hadn’t talked about his crush on Arthur. Merlin didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that Arthur hadn’t even made a joke of it.

Friday night came around and Merlin was working on his posture when Arthur suddenly spoke.

“Look, I know I said all that stuff about trying harder and so on to get into the final, but maybe you have something of a point too.”

Merlin put on a show of looking shocked. “Are you… Are you, Arthur Pendragon, admitting that I, the lowly peasant Merlin, might be right about something? Surely not!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Arthur waved off his sarcasm with a smile. “You still have to go out there and give it everything, but have fun too. I think you can make the final. I think you could win this thing. However, I have to admit you were right about enjoying the dances, the experience. Go out there and make the most of it and I’m sure the rest, the technique, will follow.”

Merlin didn’t know what to do with the emotions that Arthur expressing such honest belief in him had brought up so he simply nodded. “Thank you.”

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Seven – Quarter Finals & Musicals Week.**

With only six couples now left in the competition the pressure was piling on. Merlin was quick to seek out Freya’s company for some mutual support and encouragement. From the way Morgana lingered around them and Freya blushed whenever Merlin caught them looking at one another he guessed Freya must have admitted her feelings and it had gone well. He would have to find some time on Sunday to call her to catch up on all the gossip.

Leon and Mithian joined their group after a while. Merlin had always been quite intimidated by how good they were but after they had landed in the dance off the week before there now felt like some kind of solidarity between them. 

Elyan and Nimueh, and Percival and Lamia also came over for some of the time. Merlin wasn’t sure he liked either Nimueh or Lamia at all but Elyan and Percival were decent guys. It didn’t harm that they were easy on the eye either. 

Mordred and Kara were the only ones that kept themselves apart. Merlin had the feeling that it wasn’t for lack of wanting to join in on Mordred’s part given the longing looks he cast at the playful banter of the male celebrities and Arthur. Kara tugged on his arm and led him away when she caught him. Merlin felt a little guilty he didn’t feel more sorry for the poor boy but the way he looked at Arthur was on the creepy side of intense.

Percival and Lamia opened the show with the most strangely unsettling Rumba that Merlin had ever seen. It ought to have been sexy but somehow it just came across as predatory, with Percival the unlikely prey. 

Leon and Mithian followed with an incredible Quickstep. Then it was Freya and Morgana who surprised everyone with how good their Jive was. Elyan and Nimueh’s Salsa went badly wrong and the whole group gathered around to commiserate with them. Merlin had seen the routine in the dress rehearsals and knew how good it could be so it was a shame. He unfortunately didn’t have much time to do much more than pat Elyan on the back though as they were up next.

***** ***** *****

As soon as those gloriously familiar first notes of the Paso Doble music from Strictly Ballroom filled the room Merlin knew Arthur had been right. He loved this musical so much, and even if he wasn’t perfect he was going to have a damn good time doing the routine regardless. He let himself feel the music, let the rhythm guide his steps, and everything came so much more naturally. He fell into the part he was playing with ease. When the routine ended he could hear the crowd cheering for them and he knew whatever the judges said he would be happy. Arthur gave him a hug and said well done but there was no repeat of the previous weekend’s almost-kiss which was disappointing.

Helen welcomed them over enthusiastically, “Oh My Goodness! Look at everyone in the room! That was sensational!”

Arthur threw his arm around Merlin’s shoulders and drew him in closer, “he has done an amazing job this week. I’m really proud of him.”

Merlin was glad of the stage makeup to hide his blushes.  
“He has indeed. Well done Merlin! Now, over to the judges.”

Gwen gave Merlin one of her wonderfully encouraging smiles. “Merlin, that was really well done. I loved your musicality and enthusiasm. Once or twice your change in weight needed to be a little more clear but I love how you come out and give it 150% every week.”

Gwaine winked at Merlin again. He made an effort not to respond in kind. He didn’t set any store by Arthur’s worries about things being misconstrued but he didn’t want to upset his partner any further.

“Mate, that was good. You’re really improving week by week. I don’t know how you managed to keep up the attack and the intent through that routine. You had really strong posture and the appel section was spot on.”

Helen thanked Gwaine and called on Uther next. Uther wore a disdainful expression. Merlin wasn’t sure if he imagined Arthur’s arm gripping him just a little tighter.

“You slightly missed the timing of the-” the audience began booing, “Oh shut up,” he snapped at them. “As I was saying – you missed the timing on the chasse cape section and you were a little bit early on the end, but I’ve got to say that was a good routine. Arthur, you did your student proud. I’ve never seen anyone use the basic steps of the Paso Doble in that way and I adore it.”

The audience applauded and Helen looked to Kilgharrah next.

“Kilgharrah, talk to me, what did you think?”

“I thought that was amazing. Everyone must be challenged, Merlin, and I must say you are truly showing your skill now as a result of it. You are far more talented than you realise. That routine was absolutely so professional and you are well on your way to the final at this rate.”

***** ***** *****

As they stood with Aithusa for their post dance interview while they awaited the scores, Merlin couldn’t help smiling wholeheartedly.

“Merlin, how did you feel about the routine?” Aithusa asked him.

“I am honestly so happy right now. I know it wasn’t perfect but the dance went to plan, we put on a show, and gave it our all.” 

“And what about the judges’ comments?”

“It is genuinely a dream come true to hear such positive comments. I second guess myself a lot and Arthur always pulls me out of it. I don’t know how I got so lucky to get a partner that believes in me the way he does.” Merlin risked a glance at Arthur, who looked unexpectedly emotional at his words

Arthur squeezed Merlin’s hand and moved a fraction closer. “I push Merlin so hard and he always comes back fighting. It’s one thing to have the talent, another to put it into action, and I am so proud of him for always putting in the effort. I am so proud to have the chance to help him do that.” Arthur smiled at him so tenderly that if they hadn’t been on live television he would have kissed him then and there. But they were, and the scores were in, so the moment passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a complaint – there are not enough same sex Paso Dobles out there. Come on dancing guys and gals, I need more pretty dances to flail over. I did find a cool one from the Slovak version of Strictly though so that was fun (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JK8A2NzYP4) Anyways. I was determined to base this on a different musical but in the end my Strictly Ballroom love and the minimal number of dances in the right time signatures meant this one won out. You should definitely go watch the film if you haven't seen it before. I won't include a clip of the Paso Doble bits as that would be spoilers if you've not seen it. There was a really cool and intense routine to the music of it though in a series of the US version, Dancing with the Stars (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jikKa0iHr1w).  
> Elyan and Nimueh were eliminated this week with Percival and Lamia in the dance off with them btw. I wanted to write the results show but it didn't want to come out right and this chapter already got way too long.  
> See you next week folks - Keep Dancing!


	9. Week 8 - Semi Final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here I am strolling in well over a month late with this. I have many many excuses but 'brain and free time not available' should cover most of it. I'm still working on the final chapter but hopefully this will keep you going anyone that is still reading this. I've never abandoned anything that I started posting before and I find this story so much fun, but the format and style is a little difficult for me so I should have known it would never be achievable to set myself a schedule. I love each and every one of you that has read, commented, kudos, and subscribed to this fic. Thank you. You've really kept me going when I might have let it slide.

**Training, Week Eight – Semi Final.**

Merlin couldn’t really believe he had made it to the semi final. He only had to survive one more week now and he could say he had been in the final of Camelot Come Dancing. It felt surreal, like a dream, scary and exciting in equal measure.

The scariest part of all was nothing to do with the dancing or the semi final, it was that Merlin was beginning to wonder if his unrequited love for his dance partner wasn’t so unrequited after all. He had no clue what to do with that unexpected bit of hope.

On the Sunday after the previous show he had spent the day at Arthur’s place. After having crashed there almost all the week before it had seemed to make sense to stay there after a late night of filming. Then, somehow, he had ended up not leaving the next day. They had spent the day lazing about watching old Fred Astaire movies, eating an improbable amount of snacks, and just talking. At some point Arthur had shifted closer to Merlin under the pretext of stealing his popcorn and then had simply stayed there. Merlin’s mind had struggled to decide whether to throw popcorn at Arthur and complain about him hogging the sofa, or whether to snuggle in closer and use those gloriously broad shoulders as a head rest. In the end he had opted for pretending not to notice, which was, quite honestly, the worst possible choice he could have made because now he had no idea whether Arthur simply had no concept of personal space, or if he had been trying to hit on him in the most indirect way conceivable.

They had two dances to learn this week, the Charleston and the Quickstep, so they would be spending more time than ever together. Merlin knew he ought to be more worried about having to learn so much in a week but really his mind was only focussed on whether it would be a good idea to ask Arthur out when they only had at most two weeks left on the show. 

He needed to clear his mind before Arthur arrived so he decided to make use of the time and space to practice part of the final trick in his father’s repertoire that he had almost finished reconstructing. There was just one crucial detail that had been eluding him and he was sure he had almost solved it at last.

***** ***** *****

Arthur was not in the mood to get to the training room that morning. Yes, he was excited at potentially getting to the final again, and for Merlin to possibly win, but he was far more preoccupied by thoughts of his painfully awkward behaviour the day before.

The idea to make a move on Merlin had been a spontaneous one. He had looked over during the film and caught Merlin smiling that brightest of smiles that always captured his heart and all his carefully constructed rules and plans had fallen away. Before he could even think it through he had shifted from his own end of the sofa to sit right up against Merlin. For one wonderful moment he had revelled in the simple contact, something that wasn’t dance related or just the kind of thing friends did, but then Merlin had looked at him quizzically and every ounce of confidence he had ever had had vanished. He had grabbed a handful of Merlin’s popcorn and made a comment about Merlin being bad at sharing and then turned his attention back to the film. 

It was a full minute later before he had realised Merlin kept glancing at him because he hadn’t moved away. They were still far too close. And now it had been too long and there was no way for Arthur to move without drawing attention to it. So he had stayed that way, plastered up against Merlin, for the full last half hour of the film. Later he thought of a million better ways he could have handled the situation, number one being throwing the popcorn away and kissing those damn distracting lips until he had a definite answer about Merlin’s feelings one way or another. Not that he would ever do that. No, his barriers were all firmly back in place again. For now at least.

“Morning,” he gave Merlin a tired wave as he made his way into the studio for training. Arthur had always hated early mornings and this week there were going to be a lot of those.

“Good morning, Sire!” 

Arthur revised his previous thoughts about being in love with Merlin; how could he ever be in love with someone so cheerful in the mornings.

“Ugh. Stop calling me that.”

“Aw, come on, cheer up,” Merlin laughed, “you’ll get some daylight soon to cheer you up.”

“Why did I ever agree to do this show again?” He grumbled. “You’re the worst partner I’ve ever had.”

“No I’m not,” Merlin said, still far too happy and loud, then he waved a hand in front of Arthur’s face. Arthur blinked and suddenly there was a cup of coffee in Merlin’s previously empty hand.

“No, you’re not,” Arthur conceded as he took the coffee.

“So, Charleston and Quickstep. I’m doomed aren’t I?” Merlin said, and if you only looked at his bright smile and mocking tone you’d think he was only joking, but there was something in those eyes of his that spoke to an underlying anxiety. Those golden eyes. Golden. _What?!_

“Why are your eyes… gold?”

“What?” Merlin frowned, half raised a hand to his face, and then suddenly he was smiling again but this time with no trace of worry. He spun around to look at his reflection on the mirrored wall of the studio, “I did it! I finally did it!”

“Did what? Learn how to put contacts in?” 

“No, well yes, but it’s more complicated than that. Watch this,” Merlin blinked and his eyes went back to their usual blue.

“OK, that is kind of cool.”

“No, that’s not the trick. I was just setting up.” 

Arthur shifted his weight, uncomfortable. He had never really known how to feel about magic. His father had always sneered at magic acts and often complained that they belonged at children’s parties, not on a professional stage. His thoughts on the more psychological tricks some magicians were known for were best never repeated. He hadn’t really seen what Merlin could do and in the bubble that was Camelot Come Dancing he hadn’t really thought to ask, focussed as they were on dancing.

Merlin opened his palm and said something in a language he didn’t understand, and then his eyes flashed golden and his palm caught on fire. Arthur’s first reaction was unfortunately not to make some suitably impressed noise but rather to fall backwards over his own feet in shock. He landed heavily on the floor, knocking all the air out of his lungs.

“Arthur!” Merlin was at his side in an instant, the fire gone from his hands. “Shit, sorry! I shouldn’t have sprung that on you without some kind of warning. I know it’s not your everyday kind of magic. Come on, breathe slowly, you’re just winded.”

Merlin was rubbing circles on Arthur’s back and he was yet again at a loss. How did such a man leave him feeling like a hapless idiot who was utterly unprepared for anything over and over again.

“I… know… what to… do…” he wheezed as he got his breath back. 

“I’m sure you do. After all, you must fall over all the time while training to do those fancy routines you do with the other pros. Honestly I’m impressed that this is how you end up on the floor when training with me rather than me dropping you. Not that I’d intend to drop you. I just tend to drop things in general,” Merlin rambled on.

“Shut up… _Mer_ lin.”

Merlin stopped rubbing Arthur’s back and jumped up. Arthur tried not to pout at the sudden loss of contact. 

“Do you mind if I make a quick call while you’re recovering there? I need to tell Gaius I finally got this bit of the trick down. It means I can finally do the big finale from my father’s routine.”

Arthur waved Merlin away. He would need a few minutes to recover, both physically and from the shock, and this was clearly important to Merlin.

***** ***** *****

Training went surprisingly well the first day after the somewhat bad start. Merlin was enjoying both the Charleston and the Quickstep even if they were both fast paced and tiring.

They were dancing the Charleston to a song he hadn’t heard before, Bad Boy Good Man by Tape Five, but he was already loving it. If he had learned anything in this experience it was that even his favourite songs could get tiring after a whole week of hearing them on repeat so less familiar or new tunes were actually quite refreshing. 

Their Quickstep was to When You’re Smiling, which Arthur had picked apparently. The problem he was having with that dance was that it was meant to be smooth and glamorous despite being so fast and Merlin just didn’t think he could ever be described as ‘glamorous’. They were working late into the evening just to try and get his form better. Arthur even had him dancing with a broom handle, which seemed like a cruel and unusual punishment, to try and improve his frame.

Thoughts of the meeting with Gaius he was now trying to also fit into their already crowded week were also a source of distraction. As much as he was convinced that getting into the final was a long shot he wanted to be prepared just in case they did. Ever since he had agreed to go on Camelot Come Dancing there had been a little part of him that had been thinking ahead to the showdance the finalists did in the last show and how amazing it would be to mix in some real magic with it, not just the average tricks they had let him do from time to time. Now that he had pinned down the final detail of his father’s most impressive trick he was itching to get Gaius’ approval to set it up for public use.

***** ***** *****

Thursday rolled around quicker than Arthur would have liked. Every spare minute was reclaimed for their training so Merlin skipping out for a couple of hours was not the most convenient. Still, they’d had a lot more time than he’d had with some of his previous partners when they had filming or other commitments that kept on during the period of the show.

They had kept the visit quiet at Merlin’s request. The filming crew would no doubt have loved some clips about Merlin’s magic and a meeting with someone so high up in the magical community, but Merlin had looked panicked when Arthur mentioned it and said that Gaius had strictly forbidden cameras in his offices. 

It was weird to think of a magician having offices and filling out forms.

Arthur had intended to make use of the free time to work on the rest of his routines for the next couple of shows, but curiosity had got the better of him in the end and he had asked if he would be allowed to accompany Merlin to his meeting. Merlin had seemed pleased and rather baffled by his request and had agreed on the condition Arthur waited outside during the pre-meeting and set up, and that he tried not to freak out as much as he had to the fire trick. Merlin’s teasing grin when he said the second part had only played into Arthur’s stubbornness and he had then insisted on coming along since they were losing so much training time.

From the outside, the headquarters of the magic society that Merlin was a member of were just as strangely bland as they had sounded. 1960s concrete offices blended seamlessly into the other units in the industrial estate. The only sign they were in the right place was, quite literally, the sign that proclaimed the building to be the society headquarters. Inside was a whole other story. The place had been opened up so that much of the ground floor was a large, open-plan, performance space. Other areas were set aside for stores of props and materials, smaller practice spaces, and some kind of laboratory. Only the top floor was set up as a typical office block might be, with rooms for HR, accounting, etc. Gaius, it transpired, was the CEO of the society. That made sense - given what he now knew of Merlin’s stature in the magical community it was obvious that Merlin would be speaking with the most senior person available. More surprising, however, was the small office beside Gaius’ that bore Merlin’s name. 

“You’re his deputy?” Arthur asked, trying not to sound condescending.

Merlin blushed, “not exactly. More like his apprentice. I’ll take over as CEO one day, but that won’t be for years yet.”

“So…” Arthur looked around, suddenly feeling like a spare part. “Should I just wait here, or go back to the car?”

“We won’t be long with this bit. I’ve already filled in all my forms and talked it through on the phone. Grab a seat. I just need a bit of sign off on a couple of points then I’ll come get you for the practice.”

Arthur sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs in the corridor while Merlin vanished into the office with a shy wave. He absent-mindedly noted that the chairs were the same ones they had in schools, which was weird for offices, but with the bland corridor, strip lighting, pin board displays of photos, and lingering sense of unease it suddenly felt like he was ten years old all over again and waiting to be sent into the headmasters office. 

The idea made him laugh, and then his laughter made him look around to check that no one else was around to see him swinging his feet and laughing to himself. What on earth had possessed him to come along? First he had to sit around like a spare part, then he would have to keep a tight hold on his feelings so that he didn’t show himself up during Merlin’s performance. It felt like a real honour to be allowed in to see the trick being performed for the first time, but he was woefully unprepared for what it might contain. Perhaps looking up some magic shows to watch would have been a good idea, but with training and Merlin still staying over he had very little time to do so.

Did Merlin allowing him to come along to see this trial performance mean anything, he wondered. Since the weekend their behaviour had been bordering on flirty. But maybe that was just how Merlin was with his friends. He seemed a very open and affectionate type. Perhaps the casual touches, the lingering looks, the simple kindnesses like making him breakfast were all just the product of being brought up in a normal healthy family. Although Merlin’s life hadn’t been without its share or hardship or suffering, he at least had a relationship with his mother that he could trust to be loving and supportive. Arthur had none of that, so he had no idea how far across the line between indifferent colleagues and potential lovers he had strayed. Was he coming across as open to affection and curious about Merlin’s feelings, or did he still seem cold and superior (as his sister was always telling him he appeared), or worse, did he seem creepy?

Gaius and Merlin reappeared just as Arthur was working himself up into a panic that Merlin was simply putting up with him for the sake of the show and once it was over he wouldn’t ever want anything more to do with him.

Merlin must have read something of his mood because his brow creased in concern.

“Are you alright, Arthur?”

“Yes! Yes, of course, excited to see this trick.” 

Gaius raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Arthur looked at the old man and had a sudden bout of panic that he might be one of those mind readers. It certainly looked like he was looking into his soul… and judging him. Arthur’s fixed smile began to feel painful.

Gaius broke the impromptu staring match with a sigh and the shake of his head. “Well then, come along. I haven’t got all day you know.”

Arthur meekly followed down the stairs and into the largest of the practice rooms.

“I need the big space for this, really, but I don’t want anyone else to see it yet,” Merlin said with a wide grin. “Take a seat and prepare to be amazed!”

Arthur gave a snort of laughter at Merlin’s theatrics but settled in one of the handful of seats set up along the back wall. Gaius sat down next to him, thankfully with his attention focussed firmly on Merlin now.

The room grew dark, a red light now illuminated Merlin’s silhouette. A tense strain of music filled the air. On the small stage space Merlin opened his arms wide and the light became bright as daylight, images flittered across the backdrop behind him.

“Long ago, the world was full of wonder and magic. The people worshipped the gods and goddesses of the earth, air, and water, and for their devotion the world carried on turning, the crops grew, and the rains fell. But it was the people who controlled the fourth element – fire.” 

At this, Merlin held his hands out in front of him and spoke the same strange words he had spoken earlier that week. His eyes flared a bright gold in the darkened space and flames sprung to life in the palm of his hands.

Arthur tried not to jump – he knew what was coming after all – but it was easier thought than done. He was glad of the gloom that hid the tension in his frame.

Merlin extinguished the flames with a clap of his hands and spoke again. 

“Yet there were a few among the citizens of those times that controlled more than mere hearth fires and candle lights. They were the only souls that could control the source of the original flame, the mighty dragons that once soared over the lands.”

Merlin waved his arm out and a strange mist lit with intermittent flashes of light filled the space. _It’s just dry ice,_ Arthur told himself, _a simple trick._ He was _not_ going to get stressed out by a party trick.

“The dragon lords were feared and revered in equal measure. Without them the men and women of the age would have stood no chance if the dragons had decided to turn on them.”

An abrupt flash of movement overhead made Arthur jump. Merlin spun round and raised his arms, shouting in the unfamiliar language. The backdrop flared out and took on the shape of a great winged beast. It swooped down then spun away back into the mist.

Arthur stifled a noise of surprise. _Ice. Dry ice. And a projector. And a wind machine or something. Just a trick._ Beside him, he was fairly certain Gaius was laughing at him judging by the way his shoulders shook. He crossed his arms across his chest and resolved not to let anything else that happened take him by surprise.

“A new king rose to the throne of the most powerful kingdom in the land. He was ruthless and brutal, and he hated magic and all creatures borne of her. Under his reign, he put to death every being of magic that his knights could find. Finally there was but one dragon lord and one great dragon left. The king tricked the dragon lord by making him believe he wished to broker a peace for those with magic in the kingdom.”

The mist that surrounded Merlin grew orange and red. It twist into columns that rose up and now resembled flames and smoke. 

Arthur realised he was holding his breath and forced himself to drag some air into his lungs.

“The last dragon lord was placed upon the pyre, and the last dragon chained.”

Merlin’s eyes flashed golden again, he looked up shouting now in that weird language, and a column of real fire shot up, surrounding and consuming him. 

Arthur didn’t even think.

He was on his feet and running the instant he saw the flames. A second later and he was reaching out, pulling Merlin away from the danger.

The lights went back on. The fire vanished. Someone was laughing.

“Arthur?” 

Merlin’s voice broke through the fog in Arthur’s brain. They were pressed up together, Arthur’s arms protectively around Merlin’s slender frame. Merlin looked as shocked as Arthur was feeling. Arthur’s heart was racing, the residual adrenaline from his panic still coursing through his body.

“Arthur, are you alright?” Merlin asked gently, and brought a hand up to Arthur’s face.

Merlin’s hand was cool on his hot skin. They had stood together like this so many times before, touched just as much every time they danced, but this was different, more intimate.

Arthur opened his mouth to reply but no words came. Merlin was safe, unharmed by the flames, but he couldn’t help but imagine… It was too awful. Merlin’s own mouth was open slightly, his breath caressing his face. Before he knew what he was doing, Arthur had closed the final space between them, pressed his lips to Merlin’s.

On another day he might have worried about kissing Merlin like this. On another day he probably wouldn’t have acted so hastily. Had he taken the time to look up the kind of tricks Merlin used in his act the whole situation would probably never have happened. 

Merlin pressed up against him and eagerly returned the kiss. 

For once Arthur was glad he had acted impulsively. His only thoughts were of Merlin, his Merlin, safe in his arms, and very much not running away from this kiss.

Something broke through the fog of fear and lust. Someone was clapping… 

Arthur pulled back but didn’t move far. He couldn’t have gone that far even if he wanted to as Merlin had a tight hold on his hands.

“Bravo!” Gaius managed to say through tears of laughter. “That’s a much better ending than you had planned. Rescued by the fair prince. It’s perfect.”

Merlin scowled at his mentor, “thank you so much for your ever constructive input.”

“No problem at all,” Gaius said. “Anyway, it’s all looking good so I’ll leave you two in peace. Give me a call later and we’ll discuss strategies.” He left with a wave, still laughing.

Arthur stared at his shoes and willed the ground to open up. Surely Merlin knew of a good disappearing trick that could save him from his embarrassment...

“So,” Merlin said quietly once they were alone, “you really are that bad at flirting then.”

Arthur looked up and saw the teasing look on Merlin’s face. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Popcorn,” Merlin winked at him.

“You’re hungry?” 

“Nice try. You know if you’re that bad at flirting you’d do better to maybe just tell the person you like that you fancy them next time, or you might die of old age before you get lucky.”

“What about you? You’re not much better! Let’s get going. We can talk later.” Arthur grumbled, but what he really wanted to say was _‘I don’t want there to be a next time.’_

***** ***** *****

Merlin was sorry to have to rush back to the studio but they had some filming to do. He was even more sorry not to have a real chance to talk about what had happened and where they stood now. They could have talked in Arthur’s car on the drive back, but Arthur had become almost monosyllabic in his responses to Merlin’s chatter. He hoped this was not a bad sign, that Arthur didn’t regret his actions, and that their kiss had meant something.

As they sat and watched the videos of messages of support from friends, family, loved ones, and members of the public, Merlin wanted to take Arthur’s hand again. He wanted to close the gap between them, rest his head on Arthur’s shoulder, get close enough to hear his heart. However, under the intense scrutiny of the cameras filming them he couldn’t even smile at the man he loved too often for fear that he would give himself away.

When they had watched all the clips, Merlin felt rather emotional. He knew how much his mother was cheering him on, but to see how many others had taken the time to say something to encourage him, how many people he’d never even met, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

“What did it mean to you to see how many people are supporting you?” Arthur asked him. It was a scripted question and it felt more awkward than ever after their kiss earlier.

“I’ve been thinking of all those wonderful people I’m so lucky to have in my life. I’ll be dancing for them on Saturday,” Merlin said _‘and for Arthur most of all,’_ he added silently.

Arthur gave him a polite smile and said something encouraging, but it sounded just as scripted as his previous line.

***** ***** *****

“I’ve been thinking…” Merlin broke the tense silence that had characterised their evening since they got back from the studio.

“Uh-oh,” Arthur muttered absent-mindedly as he washed up the last of the plates.

“Oh, haha, very funny,” Merlin grumbled. “No, look, I’ve been thinking about that kiss.”

That got Arthur’s attention. He looked over at where Merlin was still drying the first mug he had washed up. The rest of the washing up sat untouched on the rack. The mug had to be completely dry by now so clearly Merlin’s attention was elsewhere.

“I _really_ like you, Arthur. I know things can get… complicated when people get together on this show and I really don’t want to mess things up between us. I’d like to be with you. Or at least to give it a go. It’s just…” Merlin’s hands stilled and then he set the mug aside. “I don’t know if that’s what you want and I need you to know that if you don’t want to be with me, or if you don’t like me that way, then that’s fine. We can just carry on like it never happened if you prefer.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I understand,” Merlin sighed and turned to walk away. Arthur caught his wrist to keep him there.

“No! I mean… I meant ‘yes, I want to be with you.’ I like you too Merlin. I thought that much was evident in my dragging you out of that fire and then kissing you.”

“Then why…?” Merlin’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Ever since then you’ve gone back to acting so… professional.”

“I thought… well, after we kissed you were laughing and talking about next time I fancy someone… I don’t know,” he shrugged defensively, “I just got the feeling that maybe you liked the kiss but that was all.”

“No. I really liked that kiss and the sentiment behind saving me from my own magic trick – which was perfectly safe by the way – I just never thought that someone like you… Well, I wondered if you were flirting before but it was really hard to tell. And I thought you were straight.”

“I’m bi.”

“Yeah, I figured that out when you kissed me.” Merlin’s lips curled up into a smile at that, but the smile faded just as quickly back to the serious expression he had worn all evening. “I just thought you were kind of out of my league and so maybe you only kissed me because of the adrenaline, or because of the way things get so mixed up when you’re around someone almost every waking hour for weeks on end, or maybe you just wanted something... physical, not serious...”

Arthur considered Merlin’s pinched lips, downturned gaze, shoulders hunched in anticipation of rejection and decided some honesty was going to be necessary. He took a deep breath and tried to push away the desire to run away that always came over him when faced with having to admit his feelings.

“Merlin, I fell for you weeks ago. I never made a move because I have this rule – had this rule – that I don’t get involved with anyone I’m partnered with.”

Merlin looked up at him, lips parted slightly in confusion.

“But I realised recently you’re different. What I feel for you is so much more than lust. I thought I could wait until after the show ended to tell you, wait until things were clearer and I wouldn’t complicate things, but then I thought I was going to lose you and I…” his throat felt constricted at the memory of the intensity of fear he had felt when he thought those flames could hurt Merlin.

“So you decided to break your rule for me?”

“It wasn’t so much a decision,” Arthur said. “You really like me?”

A wide smile brightened Merlin’s features once more. It was unacceptable that someone smiling should make him feel this way. Then Merlin started laughing and an edge of annoyance crept in.

“Is the great and mighty Arthur Pendragon feeling insecure? Surely not!”

“If I choose to make you my boyfriend are you always going to be this insufferable?” Arthur grumbled, but he couldn’t hide his smile.

“Yes.”

Merlin was still laughing. And dammit if that wasn’t a complete turn on for Arthur he didn’t know what was. He would give anything to keep that easy, comfortable, happiness on his face forever. 

“So,” Merlin said, “do I make the grade? Do I win the title of boyfriend?”

Arthur stepped up close, crowding Merlin back against the kitchen cabinets. Merlin’s laughter stopped abruptly and his breath hitched. 

“If I had my way you’d win everything,” Arthur said, and then he kissed Merlin again as he’d been dreaming of doing for hours.

***** ***** *****

**The Show, Week Eight – Semi Final.**

Helen and Aithusa stepped out on to the dance-floor to the opening music.

“Hello! Welcome to the semi final of Camelot Come Dancing!” Helen said and the crowd cheered.

“Our five remaining couples will each be performing two dances this week for the chance to go through to the finale. It’s been a long week of training and seven long weeks for them to reach this point but they all want to make it to the final week,” Aithusa said.

“So, let’s welcome our last five standing.”

The music kicked in again and the couples made their way down the stairs to the dance-floor. The announcer named each couple as they entered to the cheers of the audience.

_“Cricketer and presenter, Leon and his partner Mithian  
Albion rugby star, Percival and his partner Lamia  
YouTuber, Mordred and his partner Kara  
Magician, Merlin and his partner Arthur  
and finally - Singer, Freya and her partner Morgana”_

***** ***** *****

Merlin tried to keep his nerves in check as he waited backstage with Arthur before their first performance of the evening. When he had entered as part of the group of five semi finalists it had really hit him that he now had a genuine chance of making it to the final.

Arthur edged a little closer to him, sensing his anxiety, and Merlin ached to take Arthur’s hand. They had to keep their relationship secret, he knew that, but now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated it was taking all his effort not to scream it to anyone that could hear – _Arthur Pendragon was his!_

Freya was the only one that knew so far. She had confessed to him when they had been left alone briefly in the makeup room that she had taken his advice and told Morgana about her feelings. They had taken a week to think about things and make sure their feelings were genuine, but now they were officially an item even if only in private for now. Merlin had hugged Freya and congratulated him. She had given him a shrewd look when they had parted and then congratulated him too. He’d tried to deny it but his blush had given him away and in the end he’d admitted the truth. It was good to be able to share his joy even if only with one person.

The announcer called their names and Merlin was wrenched out of his thoughts and back into the moment. He took up his mark with Arthur on the dance-floor. The cheering of the crowd died down and the music for their Charleston kicked in.

Despite having had to learn two routines, Merlin found his head was remarkably clear through the whole dance. It was such a fun routine and he loved every moment of it. When his eyes met Arthur’s he couldn’t help but grin even wider. Despite having felt utterly exhausted only hours ago he now was filled to the brim with energy and love for the routine and his partner. Even the lifts felt so much easier than he remembered them. 

When they finished the dance he could help but fling himself at Arthur, overcome with the simple happiness that he had never expected to find in dance. Arthur pulled him close and Merlin contemplated how platonic kissing him on the cheek might be viewed as. Lots of the straight couples did it. Luckily Arthur pulled away and dragged him to their mark for the judging before he could get too carried away in the moment. 

Helen congratulated them but he was too distracted to truly take in her words. He had looked to the judges and his had stomach sunk a little at the calculating look Uther was giving him. It was easy to forget he was Arthur’s father. Surely he couldn’t tell…

Gwaine’s ever effusive energy distracted him from his worries. “MERLIN! That dance was made for you mate. It was fun, it was energetic, it was cheeky – so all your best qualities. You totally smashed it.”

Merlin couldn’t help but grin at the ridiculous judge and thank him, but he subtly nudged Arthur’s shoulder as he did so. Arthur was cute when he was jealous, but they probably could do without him sulking too obviously on national television.

“Gwen, what did you think?” Helen asked.

Gwen gave them the most radiant smile. Merlin looked at her and couldn’t help but think if he weren’t gay that this most beautiful of women would have stolen his heart by now. 

“Well, that was such fun to watch. You had the swivel in your steps, and the lifts were spectacular. I loved the joy you brought to that routine. Well done!”

Kilgharrah smiled at them. His smile always looked just a little bit predatory to Merlin but his opinion was important. As head judge he could be the make or break as to whether they got into the final.

“Merlin, my congratulations on that routine. I could not fault your performance. If your second dance is anywhere near as good then I shall be expecting to see you in the final.”

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. It was short lived relief as there was only one judge left to comment.

“Uther, I know fun is not in your dictionary, but even you must have enjoyed that routine a little bit?” Helen winked at the notoriously hard judge and was met with a raised eyebrow and a sour look.

“It was indeed, what would pass as fun-” Uther said fun with such disdain that the audience laughed and earned another scowl, “-for some people I suppose. It could have done with a fair bit more precision and the foot placement in those swivel steps though-” the audience interrupted him by booing loudly. “Oh do shut up,” Uther said and made his contempt evident by declining to continue even when prompted by Helen.

***** ***** *****

Arthur was doing his best to keep his professional persona in place but it was slipping. The first issue was that Merlin kept smiling at him. It was so ridiculous that he was being affected by that now. Merlin was always smiling. The trouble was that now he knew how those lips tasted and every time Merlin gave Arthur one of his smiles he just wanted to kiss him.

The second problem was his father. Uther had always been able to read him like a book and if his scowl and scoring were anything to go by then he at least suspected something was going on. They had scored three tens from the other judges for their Charleston but Uther had only given them an eight. 

Freya and Morgana had also suffered his scorn for their Rumba, which was entirely undeserved as far as Arthur was concerned. Their Rumba had been the first truly competent one of the series. It certainly had been sensual, and perhaps that was where the problem stemmed from. Freya might be discreet but Morgana’s excessively flirty nature did nothing to hide the tenderness she treated Freya with. For a gay man, Uther was overly obsessed with his children acting straight, marrying well, and continuing the blood line. 

Uther’s bad mood had shown in his scoring for Percival’s Quickstep and Leon’s Tango but they hadn’t suffered as badly as Merlin and Freya. Then Mordred and Kara performed their first dance, a Samba, and suddenly things could be worse. Arthur had no idea what Mordred and Kara had done to anger his father but Uther’s scathing criticism and score of only five spoke plainly about his feelings. It was a bit of a mismatch, Mordred was a little sombre for a Samba, but it really hadn’t been _that_ bad.

The second round of dances began with Percival and Lamia performing a somewhat muted Paso Doble then Leon and Mithian impressing with a Jive. Next it was Merlin and Arthur’s Quickstep, and Arthur was nervous to dance for the first time in years.

As the music began he looked to Merlin, who was smiling so beautifully at him despite the stress and controversy of the previous dance’s scoring. He knew then he had chosen the right song. Merlin’s smile was so infectious. When You’re Smiling was in the list of standard choices of song for the Quickstep but he had chosen it not because of how well it fitted the dance, but rather because it fitted to Merlin’s personality so perfectly.

The dance passed by in what felt like no time at all despite the punishing pace of it. Merlin kept in step with him the whole time, remembered all the steps, and only lost his frame slightly once or twice. Overall, Arthur couldn’t have hoped for more. He pulled Merlin into a celebratory hug and hoped the audience and the judges would see in Merlin what he could. From the cheering and applause he was fairly confident they did. With one probable exception.

“Wow, that was fast! While you’re catching your breath, Merlin we’ll go over to the judges. Kilgharrah, did that impress?” Helen said.

Kilgharrah paused as he looked over the pair, “I certainly am. I knew from the first time I saw you dance, Merlin, that you had potential, tremendous potential, and I think that in your pairing with Arthur you have truly achieved that potential.”

“Gwen what are your thoughts?”

“That was such a polished performance and you look so handsome in that suit! That was a really charming dance.”

Gwaine looked to Gwen and held up his hand for a high five. 

“Damn right he looks handsome!”

Merlin laughed. Arthur edged closer to him. Oh how he wished he could tell Gwaine to back off his boyfriend. Merlin took his hand and surreptitiously squeezed it. 

“Uther, have you got something more cheerful to say to this performance?” Helen asked once the audience’s laughter had died down.

Arthur bit his lip. If Uther said anything too unkind he knew he would never stop himself arguing with him now.

Uther fixed Merlin with a stony look. “I can appreciate the skill of the choreography. Arthur has done well there all things considered. Your frame was passable but it did fall several times. As for the performance – well – the song might be called ‘When You’re Smiling’ but really there was no need for you to pull such an absurd expression throughout it.”

“Seriously?!” Arthur yelled as the audience booed Uther’s comments. Merlin held his hand tighter, anchoring him in place.

“What are you on tonight, mate?” Gwaine called across the judge’s bench to Uther. “That was some seriously skilful dancing right there from a man that was an absolute beginner only a few weeks ago!” Gwaine turned away from Uther who was trying to argue back but his microphone had been muted. “Merlin, that was damn good. You look good. And we all love your smile. Don’t listen to another word from that pompous git.”

Merlin laughed and gave Uther an exaggerated bow. The audience loved it. Between them, Gwaine and Merlin’s personalities had drawn away from the potential explosion that could have occurred between father and son. Arthur chanced a glance as they were heading off for the scoring. Uther’s glare was now so icy Arthur could only pity poor Mordred who was next on.

***** ***** *****

**The Results Show, Week Eight – Semi Final.**

Merlin held his breath as the lights flickered and the tense music played.

Freya and Morgana were the first to be declared through to the final which wasn’t a surprise. They had scored a perfect forty for their Paso Doble. Apparently even Uther’s misery couldn’t contend with such an impressive performance.

Leon and Mithian were next to go through. Mordred and Kara were then named the first couple in the dance off. Mordred’s Argentine Tango had received mixed responses. It was dramatic and full of tension certainly, but it lacked in precision and skill leaving him at the bottom of the leaderboard so it was an expected result.

Merlin was sure that Percival would also be through which would leave him in the dance off with Mordred and Kara. He tried not to let his disappointment show as he waited. Then, to his surprise, the light on Percival went red, and theirs went white. He was through to the final. 

Merlin looked at Arthur to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. Arthur’s joy was written across his face. For once he wasn’t presenting the perfect, professional facade. This was his Arthur full of honest, open emotion. Merlin threw himself at his partner, his boyfriend, and tried not to scream with excitement too loudly. 

He had done it. He was in the final of Camelot Come Dancing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit off topic but I was searching and I need to share that this Charleston (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVLitU9s9sw) has such cute Merlin & Gwen vibes and I love it.  
> This is the song for the Charleston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWJH3Kx3nmM Tape Five – Bad boy Good Man. A bit of electroswing is always a good call.  
> There are a lot of amazing Quicksteps and a few to their song but I think these two have the most Merlin and Arthur vibes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6lR8dqKIfo & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmoGHQdfT1w


End file.
